Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa drop below 40

OTTAWA -

The number of active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa has dropped below 40 for the first time in over a year.

The new milestone comes as Ontario plans to move into Step 3 of its reopening plan on Friday, July 16, five days earlier than expected.

Ottawa Public Health is reporting five new cases on Friday, along with 11 people newly recovered. That pushes the number of active cases in the city to 38. It hasn't been that low since spring 2020 during the pandemic's first wave.

No new deaths were reported in Ottawa for a 13th straight day.

On the vaccine front, 52 per cent of Ottawa adults are now fully vaccinated, and 81 per cent have at least one dose.

The last time Ottawa saw a new COVID-19 case count in double-digits was on Saturday, when Ottawa Public Health reported 14 new cases. 

On Thursday, Ottawa hospitals reported they were treating zero COVID-19 patients. OPH still reported two hospitalized patients, but that data can be delayed.

Provincewide, there were fewer than 200 new cases reported on Friday.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

Step 2 of Ontario's Roadmap to Reopen plan began at 12:01 a.m. June 30. Step 3 is due to begin July 16.

Ottawa Public Health data:

• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (July 1 to July 7): 3.8 (down from 4.1)
• Positivity rate in Ottawa (July 1 to July 7): 1.1 per cent (up from 0.6)
• Reproduction number (seven day average): 0.97 (up from 0.82)

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+): 744,932 (+2,748)
• Ottawa residents with 2 doses (12+): 455,212 (+37,145)
• Share of population 12 and older with at least one dose: 81 per cent
• Share of population 12 and older fully vaccinated: 49 per cent
• Total doses received in Ottawa: 1,050,076

*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

The number of known active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa is near the lowest it's been since the first wave in 2020.

There are 38 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday, six fewer than Thursday.

OPH reported that 11 more people recovered after testing positive for COVID-19. The total number of resolved cases of coronavirus in Ottawa is now 27,095.

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.

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

Ottawa Public Health is reporting two people in Ottawa hospitals with COVID-19 related illnesses.

There are no patients in the intensive care unit.

Hospitalizations (and ICU admissions) by age category:

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

These data are based on figures from Ottawa Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard, which refer to residents of Ottawa and do not include patient transfers from other regions. 

VARIANTS OF CONCERN

Ottawa Public Health data*:

• Total Alpha (B.1.1.7) cases: 6,806 (+2)
• Total Beta (B.1.351) cases: 395 (+1)
• Total Gamma (P.1) cases: 33 
• Total Delta (B.1.617.2) cases: 25 (+3)
• Percent of new cases with variant/mutation in last 30 days: 70 per cent (+1) 
• Total variants of concern/mutation cases: 7,884 (+7)
• Deaths linked to variants/mutations: 87

*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 CASES IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY

• 0-9 years old: One new case (2,292 total cases)
• 10-19 years-old: One new case (3,565 total cases)
• 20-29 years-old: One new case (6,230 total cases)
• 30-39 years-old: Zero new cases (4,235 total cases)
• 40-49 years-old: One new case (3,641 total cases)
• 50-59 years-old: Two new cases (3,329 total cases)
• 60-69-years-old: Zero new cases (1,959 total cases)
• 70-79 years-old: Zero new cases (1,093 total cases)
• 80-89 years-old: One case removed from total (857 total cases)
• 90+ years old: Zero new cases (520 total cases)
• Unknown: Zero new cases (3 cases total)  

COVID-19 TESTING

Ottawa Public Health says 1,912 Ottawa residents were tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

The weekly average positivity rate for Ottawa is 1.1 per cent.

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Task Force says the average turnaround from the time a swab is taken at an assessment site to the result is 16 hours.

CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION

• Eastern Ontario Health Unit: Zero new cases
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: Zero new cases
• Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: Three new cases
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: Zero new cases
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit: Zero new cases
• Outaouais: 2 new cases

 

COVID-19 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram