2020 March On March 11, the first identified COVID-19 case in Ottawa was recorded. It was found to be a travel-related case, showing no evidence that there was
community spread of
SARS-CoV-2 in Ottawa. On March 13, the city's first COVID-19 Assessment Centre opens at
Brewer Arena. On January 8, it was announced that students would not be returning to school from Christmas vacation on the 11th as had been anticipated, but would do virtual schooling for the next two weeks. On January 9, the
Department of Canadian Heritage announced that Ottawa's annual
Winterlude festival would be held virtually this year. On January 17, an outbreak at the Valley Stream retirement home in
Nepean leads to four deaths. On January 20, it was announced that schools in the city will remain closed. They had been set to re-open on the 25th. On January 22, the city bans sledding and tobogganing at
Mooney's Bay Hill due to consistent large crowds. On January 27, city council unanimously approved extending the city's temporary mask by-law until April 29.
February On February 5, the fist doses of the
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine arrived in the city. On February 8, the provincial government announced that the city's stay at home order would last until February 16. It had been in effect since December 26. On February 9, the first case of the
B.1.351 variant (first identified in South African) of the virus was confirmed. On February 16, the city reopened into the province's "Orange-Restrict" zone. On February 17, two employees at the Stirling Park Retirement Community were fired after accusations one of them allowed their wife to be vaccinated while stopping a housekeeper from getting theirs.
March On March 2, it was announced that police officers with the
Ottawa Police Service would begin getting vaccinations on the 3rd. On March 12, the city opened its first mass vaccination community clinic at the
Nepean Sportsplex, and is available to all residents over 90. On March 19, the city once again entered into the province's "red zone", which means limiting social gatherings to five people indoors and 25 people outdoors, restaurants only being able to seat ten people inside, tighter capacity at gyms, banning of team sports and closures of movie theatres.
April On April 1, it was announced that 34 pharmacies in the city could start offering the
AstraZeneca vaccine to adults over 55. On April 3, the entire province goes under a four-week lockdown amid a rising case numbers as the province enters the third wave of the pandemic. On April 6, the province released a list of
forward sortation areas declared as "hot spots" where adults 50 and over would be able to get vaccinations. In Ottawa, this included
K1T and K1V in the city's south end and K2V in
Kanata. The inclusion of the latter was scrutinized due to having lower than average COVID-19 cases. On April 8, the entire province goes on a stay-at-home order. On April 16, the day before the province's new orders temporarily allowing police to conduct random stops to enforce the stay-at-home order, the
Ottawa Police Service announced that they would not be using their new powers. The new orders include restrictions to provincial border crossings (including the installation of checkpoints), prohibiting outdoor social gatherings, closure of all non-essential workplaces, the reduction of capacity limits in retail settings, and the closure of outdoor recreational amenities, including playgrounds. On April 20, following the province's reversal on not allowing playground use, the city announced that anyone within 5m of playground equipment would be required to wear masks, as of April 21. On April 28, city councillors
Eli El-Chantiry,
Jan Harder and
Carol Anne Meehan request that parks in their wards (all parks in
Barrhaven Ward and
Gloucester-South Nepean Ward and Sheila McKee Park in
West Carleton-March Ward) be closed at 9pm (rather than 11pm) in accordance with new measures to make it easier for law enforcement to police large public gatherings. They are the only councillors to make such a request.
May On May 18, vaccines became available to all Ontarians over 18. All available appointments in Ottawa were booked up in just 2 and half hours. A day later, after some splash pads had opened, it was announced that they would not be, as they were included as part of Ontario's re-opening plan, set to take force June 14. On May 21, the province relented and decided to allow splash pads after all. On May 23, vaccine appointments were made available to anyone aged 12 and over.
June On June 11 at 12:01am, bars and restaurants in the city will be allowed to open their patios (until 2am) as part of Step one of the province's re-opening plans. On June 16, non-essential travel restrictions between Ontario and Quebec will be removed.
July On July 11, it was announced that fans could be in attendance at a sporting event in the city for the first time since the pandemic began. 1,000 fans will be allowed to attend the final three remaining
Ottawa Blackjacks games of the season, beginning July 17. On July 22, the city's
state of emergency in effect since March 25, 2020 comes to an end.
December On December 18, Ottawa mayor
Jim Watson announced that he tested positive for COVID-19. Following a spike in the number of cases thanks to the
omicron variant, new capacity restrictions are re-imposed on businesses on December 20, capping capacity at 50%. On December 23, the city announced a new 25-person limit on outdoor ice rinks and trails, to come into effect December 26.
2022 February On February 17, the province removed capacity limits for restaurants, gyms, movie theatres, meeting spaces, gaming establishments and other indoor areas that opt-in to proof of vaccination requirements. Private gathering sizes also increased to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.
March On March 1, the province removed the proof of vaccination system requirement for non-essential businesses. == Notable closures relating to the pandemic ==