38 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa at the start of the Thanksgiving long weekend

OTTAWA -

Ottawa Public Health is reporting 38 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday, as family and friends prepare to gather for the Thanksgiving long weekend.

No new deaths were reported.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March 2020, there have been 30,183 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 598 deaths.

The 38 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa comes at the start of the Thanksgiving long weekend. Medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches says you can gather with people from outside your household for the holiday, but follow the current provincial gathering limits.

"It is thanks to the vaccination that so many in our community have gone out and got done, it is making this fall different," said Dr. Etches, adding it's "low risk" when people are vaccinated.

Ontario's gathering limits are currently 25 people indoors and 100 people outdoors.

Dr. Etches was asked on CTV News at Six if she's worried about a spike in cases in schools after the holidays.

"No, I hope not. I think people do have the skills. We've learned what makes a difference to decrease COVID-19 transmission – the distance, the masking, the keeping windows open, all of these things make a difference," said Etches.

The 38 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday follows 29 cases on Thursday, 25 cases on Wednesday, 43 cases on Tuesday and 31 cases on Monday.

Across Ontario, there are 573 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday. There are 104 cases in Toronto, 80 in Peel Region, 41 in York Region and 34 in Windsor-Essex.

UNVACCINATED CASES

Of the 573 new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario on Friday, 381 people are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

A total of 182 cases involve fully vaccinated residents of Ontario.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says of the 271 people in hospital with COVID-19, 228 are not fully vaccinated.  Of the 154 people in ICUs with COVID-19, 139 are not fully vaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

Ottawa is now in Step 3 of Ontario's Roadmap to Reopen plan.

Ottawa Public Health data:

• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (Sept 30 to Oct. 6):  28.0 (down from 31.5)    
• Positivity rate in Ottawa (Oct. 1 to Oct. 7): 1.7 per cent (down from 1.9 per cent)
• Reproduction number (Seven day average): 0.98

Reproduction values greater than 1 indicate the virus is spreading and each case infects more than one contact. If it is less than 1, it means spread is slowing.

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

Ottawa Public Health updates vaccine numbers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. 

As of Friday:

• Ottawa residents with 1 dose (12+): 821,004 (+1,605)
• Ottawa residents with 2 doses (12+): 776,115 (+2,352)
• Share of population 12 and older with at least one dose: 89 per cent
• Share of population 12 and older fully vaccinated: 84 per cent
• Total doses received in Ottawa: 1,372,642

*Total doses received does not include doses shipped to pharmacies and primary care clinics, but statistics on Ottawa residents with one or two doses includes anyone with an Ottawa postal code who was vaccinated anywhere in Ontario. 

ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA

There are 330 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday, down from 339 active cases on Thursday.

Ottawa Public Health reported 47 newly resolved cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa. The number of resolved cases of coronavirus in Ottawa is 29,255.

The number of active cases is the number of total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 minus the numbers of resolved cases and deaths. A case is considered resolved 14 days after known symptom onset or positive test result.

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

There are seven people in Ottawa area hospitals with COVID-19 related illnesses.

There are three people in ICUs.

Age categories of people in hospital:

• 0-9: 0
• 10-19: 0
• 20-29: 1
• 30-39: 0
• 40-49: 1 (1 in ICU)
• 50-59: 2
• 60-69: 2 (1 in ICU) 
• 70-79: 1 (1 in ICU)
• 80-89: 0
• 90+: 0

COVID-19 CASES IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY

• 0-9 years old: Four new cases (2,734 total cases)
• 10-19 years-old: Nine new cases (3,991 total cases)
• 20-29 years-old: Eight new cases (6,788 total cases)
• 30-39 years-old: Five new cases (4,640 total cases)
• 40-49 years-old: Seven new cases (3,966 total cases)
• 50-59 years-old: Three new cases (3,481 total cases)
• 60-69-years-old: Two new cases (2,050 total cases)
• 70-79 years-old: Zero new cases (1,128 total cases)
• 80-89 years-old: Zero new case (870 total cases)
• 90+ years old: Zero new cases (532 total cases)
• Unknown: Zero new cases (3 cases total)  

VARIANTS OF CONCERN

Ottawa Public Health data:

• Total Alpha (B.1.1.7) cases: 6,850
• Total Beta (B.1.351) cases: 513
• Total Gamma (P.1) cases: 55
• Total Delta (B.1.617.2) cases: 712
• Total variants of concern/mutation cases: 10,689
• Deaths linked to variants/mutations: 105

*OPH notes that that VOC and mutation trends must be treated with caution due to the varying time required to complete VOC testing and/or genomic analysis following the initial positive test for SARS-CoV-2. Test results may be completed in batches and data corrections or updates can result in changes to case counts that may differ from past reports.

COVID-19 TESTING IN OTTAWA

Ottawa's COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says 2,555 swabs were processed at assessment centres in Ottawa on Oct. 6.

A total of 3,949 lab tests were performed in Ottawa on Wednesday.

The average turnaround from the time the swab is taken at a testing site to the result in Ottawa is 26 hours.

CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION

• Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 20 new cases
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: Two new cases
• Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: Two new cases
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: Two new cases
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit: Zero new cases

COVID-19 OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at institutions and community outbreaks in Ottawa.

Community outbreaks:

• Workplace – Services: One outbreak
• Workplace – Manufacturing: One outbreak

Schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks: (9 elementary schools and four child care centres)

• École élémentaire catholique Marius-Barbeau (Sept. 14)
• Kars on the Rideau Public School (Sept. 21)
• Centre Parascolaire Alpha (Sept. 23)
• St. Benedict Elementary School (Sept. 24) 
• Grandir Ensemble – Ecole Marius Barbeau (child care) (Sept. 25)
• École élémentaire Francojeunesse (Sept. 26)
• Licensed home daycare – Russell Heights 2 (Sept. 27)
• École élémentaire publique Jeanne-Sauve (Oct. 1)
• École élémentaire catholique Notre-Dame-des-Champs (Oct. 3)
• Assumpton Catholic Elementary School (Oct. 3)
• Pleasant Park Public School (Oct. 4)
• École élémentaire publique Mauril-Belanger (Oct. 4)
• Vincent Massey Public School (Oct. 4)
• École élémentaire publique L'Odyssee (Oct. 5)
• Dr. F. J. McDonald Catholic elementary school (Oct. 6) NEW

Healthcare and congregate settings experiencing outbreaks:

• No outbreaks