OTTAWA -- Ottawa Public Health is reporting 83 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on the eve of the capital moving into the Red-Control zone.

There are no new deaths linked to novel coronavirus in Ottawa on Thursday.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 15,840 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 450 deaths.

Ottawa's COVID-19 incidence rate increased to 49.1 cases per 100,000 over the past seven days, up from 48.8 cases on Wednesday.

The Ontario government announced that Ottawa will move into the Red-Control zone at 12:01 a.m. on Friday due to rising COVID-19 cases. There will be new restrictions on social gatherings, bars, restaurants, cinemas, gyms and sports teams.

The 83 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday follows 61 new cases on Wednesday, 59 on Tuesday and 75 on Monday.

Across Ontario, there are 1,553 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. There are 404 new cases in Toronto, 294 in Peel Region and 176 in York Region.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

Ottawa is in "Orange-Restrict" status under Ontario's COVID-19 framework.

Ottawa Public Health data:

  • COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 49.1 (Up from 48.8 on Wednesday, 46.3 on Tuesday, 45.5 on Monday)
  • Positivity rate in Ottawa: 2.7 per cent (March 10-16)
  • Reproduction number: 1.03 (seven day average)

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.

The orange-restrict category of Ontario's COVID-19 framework includes a weekly rate of cases per 100,000 between 25 to 39.9, a percent positivity of 1.3 to 2.4 per cent, and a reproduction number of approximately 1 to 1.1.

The red-control threshold is a weekly incidence rate of 40 or more cases per 100,000 people and a positivity rate of 2.5 per cent or higher and a reproduction number of 1.2 or more. 

VACCINES IN OTTAWA

As of March 18:

  • Vaccine doses administered in Ottawa (first and second shots): 82,896 (up by 3,237 since Wednesday)
  • COVID-19 doses received (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna): 97,170

Ottawa Public Health received a shipment of 10,530 doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on March 15. A shipment of 6,100 doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived on March 13.

*OPH says staff were able to extract additional doses out of several vials, which were given to residents. In a statement on its dashboard, OPH said, "Vaccine inventory is based on an expected 5 dose per vial supply. Occasionally, an additional dose (6th dose) is successfully extracted and administered to clients."

 RELATED: How do I get the coronavirus vaccine in Ottawa?

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

Three more people have been admitted to Ottawa-area hospitals with COVID-19 related illnesses.  There are now 21 people in hospital with COVID-19, up from 18 people on Wednesday.

Six people are in the intensive care unit.

Ottawa Public Health is currently migrating its dashboard over to the provincial system, so data on the ages of the people currently in the hospital is unavailable.

ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA

Ottawa Public Health is reporting an increase in active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa.

There are 627 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, up from 605 active cases on Wednesday.

Sixty-one more Ottawa residents have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19. Ottawa Public Health reports 14,763 resolved cases of COVID-19 in the capital.

The number of active cases is the number of total 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 BY AGE CATEGORY

  • 0-9 years old: 12 new cases (1,214 total cases)
  • 10-19 years-old: Five new cases (1,975 total cases)
  • 20-29 years-old: 23 new cases (3,454 total cases)
  • 30-39 years-old: 24 new cases (2,236 total cases)
  • 40-49 years-old: 7 new cases (2,036 total cases)
  • 50-59 years-old: 2 new cases (1,903 total cases)
  • 60-69-years-old: 4 new cases (1,141 total cases)
  • 70-79 years-old: 2 new cases (696 total cases)
  • 80-89 years-old: 4 new cases (715 total cases)
  • 90+ years old: 0 new cases (467 total cases)
  • Unknown: Zero new cases (3 cases total)

COVID-19 Testing in Ottawa

Ottawa's COVID-19 Testing Taskforce reports 2,653 swabs were processed at assessment centres in Ottawa on March 16.

A total of 5,066 lab tests were performed in Ottawa on Tuesday.

The average turnaround from the time the swab is taken at a testing site to the result is 27 hours.

COVID-19 Cases across Eastern Ontario

  • Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 33 cases
  • Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health: 12 cases
  • Leeds, Grenville and Lanark Health Unit: 12 cases
  • Renfrew County and District Health Unit: Zero cases

INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 34 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.

No new outbreaks were reported on Thursday.

There are three active community outbreaks: Two are linked to a warehouse and one is linked to a multi-unit dwelling.

The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:

  1. Rodnichok Daycare (March 1)
  2. Mac Child Care Centre – Abraar (March 3)
  3. Gloucester High School (March 5)
  4. Ottawa Torah Institute (March 7)
  5. École secondaire catholique Paul-Desmarais (March 8)
  6. Holy Spirit Elementary School (March 10)
  7. École élémentaire publique Julie-Payette
  8. École élémentaire catholique Riverside South II (March 12)
  9. École secondaire catholique Pierre Savard (March 13)
  10. École élémentaire publique Séraphin-Marion (March 14) 

The long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals, and other spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:

  1. Shelter (Jan. 26)
  2. Shelter (Jan. 27)
  3. The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus (Feb. 19)
  4. Shelter (Feb. 24)
  5. Extendicare Laurier Manor LTCH (Feb. 25)
  6. Madonna Care Community (Feb. 26)
  7. The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus (Feb. 26)
  8. Sarsfield Colonial Home (Feb. 27)
  9. Group Home (March 3)
  10. Bearbrook Retirement Residence (March 4)
  11. Perley-Rideau Veterans' Health Centre – Gatineau Building (March 4)
  12. Riverpark Retirement Residence (March 6)
  13. St. Vincent Hospital (March 6)
  14. Extendicare Medex LTCH (March 9)
  15. Peter D. Clark LTCH (March 10)
  16. Group Home (March 11)
  17. Lord Lansdowne RH (March 11)
  18. Amica Westboro Park RH (March 12)
  19. University of Ottawa Heart Institute (March 12)
  20. Chapel Hill RH (March 13)
  21. The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus (March 13)
  22. St. Patrick's Home (March 14) 
  23. St. Vincent Hospital (March 15) 
  24. University of Ottawa Heart Institute (March 16)

A single laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 in a resident or staff member of a long-term care home, retirement home or shelter triggers an outbreak response, according to Ottawa Public Health. In childcare settings, a single confirmed, symptomatic case in a staff member, home daycare provider, or child triggers an outbreak.

Under provincial guidelines, a COVID-19 outbreak in a school is defined as two or more lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in students and/or staff in a school with an epidemiological link, within a 14-day period, where at least one case could have reasonably acquired their infection in the school (including transportation and before or after school care).

Two staff or patient cases of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within a specified hospital unit within a 14-day period where both cases could have reasonably acquired their infection in hospital is considered an outbreak in a public hospital.