12 new deaths linked to COVID-19 in Ottawa, total cases surpasses 1,200

OTTAWA -- Ottawa Public Health is reporting the largest one-day spike in COVID-19 cases and deaths in Ottawa since the first case was reported seven weeks ago.

Twelve more residents have died due to COVID-19 related complications in Ottawa. No other details were released in the daily COVID-19 Epidemiology Update.

According to the Ottawa Public Health institutions update, eleven new deaths were reported in long-term care facilities due to COVID-19 between Sunday and Monday.

On Tuesday, 67 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed among Ottawa residents.

Since the first case of COVID-19 was announced in Ottawa on March 11, there has been 1,221 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 71 deaths.

The spike in new cases of COVID-19 comes just days after Ottawa Public Health, the Champlain Health Region Incident Command and Ottawa Paramedics began surveillance testing in long-term care homes. Approximately 1,700 residents and staff in nine long-term care homes were tested for COVID-19 over the weekend.

Ottawa Public Health says 529 people have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19.

Hospitalizations

There are currently 35 people being treated in Ottawa area hospitals for COVID-19, including six in the Intensive Care Home.

The number of people in hospital has remained below 35 for one week.

Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches has said a decline in hospitalizations is a key indicator on whether transmission of COVID-19 is slowing down in the community.

Median age of COVID-19 cases

The median age of Ottawa’s 1,221 cases of COVID-19 is 55 years old.

Ottawa Public Health says the youngest case involved a four-month-old child, while the oldest case involved a 105-year-old.

The report shows 35 per cent of cases involve residents over the age of 65, while 31 per cent of cases involve residents between 45 and 64 years old.

Transmission

Contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19 is the number one source of transmission for COVID-19 cases in Ottawa.

The Ottawa Public Health report shows 773 of the 1,221 cases of COVID-19 are linked to contact with a confirmed case.

Community transmission is linked to 15 per cent of all cases. According to the statistics, 181 people who tested positive for COVID-19 had no travel history and no known contact with a known case of COVID-19.