Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa on the rise, hospitalizations falling

People make their way along Somerset Street during the first day of the Ontario stay home order in Ottawa on Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Ottawa Public Health is reporting 55 more people in the city have tested positive for COVID-19.

To date, OPH has recorded 32,333 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa residents since the pandemic began. No new deaths were reported in Ottawa for a ninth straight day, holding the pandemic death toll at 618 residents of this city.

The number of people with known active cases is on the rise, but the number of COVID-19 patients with active cases in hospital is falling.

The city's rolling seven-day average is 50.6, up from 40.1 one week ago and 35.0 four weeks ago.

Across the province, health officials confirmed 887 new infections, a significant drop from the nearly 1,200 reported on Sunday.

Three more Ontarians have died due to COVID-19 and 560 previously reported cases are now considered resolved.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (Nov. 28 to Dec. 4): 34.2 (up from 31.9)             
• Positivity rate in Ottawa (Nov. 29 to Dec. 5): 2.5 per cent (up from 2.2 per cent) 
• Reproduction number (Seven day average): 1.28

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.

UNVACCINATED CASES

The seven-day average of new infections among unvaccinated residents in Ontario is 13.81 compared to 3.8 for fully vaccinated people and 5.88 for the partially vaccinated population. More than 11.2 million Ontarians are considered fully vaccinated.

Of the 887 newly reported infections reported in Ontario on Monday, 373 were in people who are not vaccinated, 426 were in fully vaccinated individuals, and 24 were in people who are only partially vaccinated. The vaccination status of the remaining 64 people with new cases is unknown.

Vaccination status of COVID-19 patients in Ontario hospitals is not available on Mondays because some hospitals don't report to the province on weekends.

Locally, Ottawa Public Health is reporting a five-week rate of 252.9 COVID-19 cases for every 100,000 unvaccinated people in the city compared to 76.7 cases for every 100,000 fully vaccinated people during the period of Oct. 23 to Nov. 26.

More than 815,000 residents of Ottawa are considered fully vaccinated as of Dec. 6.

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

Ottawa Public Health has updated its vaccination numbers to include children between ages five and 11, who are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

The healh unit releases vaccine numbers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

As of Monday:

• Ottawa residents with 1 dose (5+): 868,379 (+7,978)
• Ottawa residents with 2 doses (5+): 815,587 (+842)
• Share or population five and older with at least one dose: 87 per cent (+1)
• Share of population five and older fully vaccinated: 82 per cent

*Statistics on Ottawa residents with one or two doses include anyone with an Ottawa postal code who was vaccinated anywhere in Ontario.

ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA

There are 431 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Monday, up from 414 on Sunday.

Ottawa Public Health reported 38 more newly resolved cases of COVID-19. The total number of resolved cases of coronavirus in Ottawa is 31,284.

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 on Monday, down from eight on Sunday. That includes two people in the ICU. 

Age categories of people in hospital:

• 0-9: 0
• 10-19: 0
• 20-29: 0
• 30-39: 0
• 40-49: 0
• 50-59: 0
• 60-69: 2 (1 in ICU)
• 70-79: 1
• 80-89: 3 (1 in ICU)
• 90+: 1

(Ottawa Public Health is now reporting people in hospital with an "active" infection)

COVID-19 CASES IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY

• 0-9 years old: 19 new cases (3,203 total cases)
• 10-19 years-old: Nine new cases (4,335 total cases)
• 20-29 years-old: Two new cases (7,099 total cases)
• 30-39 years-old: Six new cases (4,937 total cases)
• 40-49 years-old: Eight new cases (4,235 total cases)
• 50-59 years-old: Four new cases (3,685 total cases)
• 60-69-years-old: Five new cases (2,178 total cases)
• 70-79 years-old: Two new cases (1,199 total cases)
• 80-89 years-old: Zero new cases (908 total cases)
• 90+ years old: Zero new case (551 total cases)
• Unknown: Zero new cases (3 cases total)

VARIANTS OF CONCERN

Ottawa Public Health has added the new Omicron variant to its list of variants of concern.

• 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: 1,319
• Total Omicron (B.1.1.529) cases: 4
• Total variants of concern/mutation cases: 12,418
• Deaths linked to variants/mutations: 122

*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

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Task Force says 1,220 swabs were processed at assessment centres on Sunday and labs performed 2,086 tests.

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

Ottawa's test positivity rate for the week of Nov. 29 to Dec. 5 inclusive is 2.5 per cent.

CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION

• Eastern Ontario Health Unit: Five new cases
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 12 new cases
• Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 41 new cases
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: Nine new cases
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 22 new cases

COVID-19 OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health reports COVID-19 outbreaks at institutions and community outbreaks in Ottawa. There are five ongoing outbreaks in health care institutions and 19 in child care and school settings.

Community outbreaks:

• Multi-unit Dwelling: One outbreak
• Religious/Spiritual Organization: One outbreak
• Workplace – Manufacturing: One outbreak
• Workplace – Recreation: One outbreak

Schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks: 

1. Assumption Catholic elementary school (Nov. 8)
2. Académie Providence Soeurs Antonines (Nov. 16)
3. Carlington Recreation Centre - Licenced Childcare Centre (Nov. 17)
4. Le Carrefour - Services de garde agréés en Centre (Nov. 18)
5. St. Rita Elementary School (Nov. 21)
6. Pinecrest Public School (Nov. 21)
7. Carson Grove Elementary School (Nov. 22)
8. Holy Redeemer Elementary School (Nov. 22)
9. Chapel Hill Catholic School (Nov. 23)
10. École élémentaire catholique St. François d'Assise (Nov. 24)
11. Inuuqatigiit licenced childcare - Overbrook (Nov. 25)
12. Notre Dame High School (Nov. 25)
13. Maryvale Academy of Ottawa (Nov. 26)
14. Frank Ryan Catholic Intermediate School (Nov. 26)
15. Farley Mowat Public School (Nov. 28)
16. École élémentaire catholique Elisabeth-Bruyère (Dec. 1) 
17. Half Moon Bay Public School (Dec. 1) 
18. St. Marguerite d'Youville Elementary School (Dec. 2) 
19. St. Thomas More Elementary School (Dec. 2) 
20. École élémentaire publique Jeanne-Sauvé (Dec. 3) NEW

Healthcare and congregate settings experiencing outbreaks:

1. Rooming House (Nov. 12)
2. Chapel Hill Retirement Residence - 3rd floor (Nov. 13)
3. St. Patrick's Home - Floors 3, 4, 5 (Nov. 17)
4. The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus - Unit B2 (Nov. 19)