COVID-19 hospitalizations in Ottawa on the rise

COVID-19 hospitalizations in Ottawa are on the rise as the level of virus detected in the city’s wastewater continues to surge to record levels.

The seven-day mean viral signal reported by the Ottawa COVID-19 wastewater monitoring project has been rising rapidly for the past several weeks. Hospitalizations had remained relatively stable, but figures from Ottawa Public Health jumped on Tuesday.

Graph representing COVID-19 wastewater viral signal in Ottawa. Data last reported 2022-04-04. (613covid.ca/wastewater/)

OPH is reporting 19 residents in hospital because of an active case of COVID-19, up from 11 on Monday. There are two people in intensive care, up from zero.

OPH hospitalization figures only represent Ottawa residents who are in hospital because of an active case of COVID-19. Local hospitals report higher figures, which include patients who were admitted for reasons other than COVID-19 but have tested positive and patients who are not from Ottawa.

Here is a look at how many COVID-19 patients are in each hospital:

• The Ottawa Hospital: 40 patients
• Queensway Carleton Hospital: 17 patients
• Montfort Hospital: Nine patients
• CHEO: Five patients

OPH data also show 100 per cent of acute care beds in Ottawa’s hospitals were occupied as of April 1, along with 70 per cent of ICU beds. These data include all patients in the system, not only COVID-19 patients.

OPH reported 79 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Tuesday. Daily case counts are an underrepresentation of the true level of COVID-19 in the community because PCR testing in Ontario remains restricted to certain high-risk populations.

No new deaths have been reported. To date, 765 residents of Ottawa have died after contracting COVID-19.

"You don’t need a lot of people to get sick all at once before you cause a local surge which then starts to overwhelm the health care capacities of that same region,"  said Dr. Matthew Oughton, an infectious diseases physician at the Jewish General Hospital in Montreal. "Even in the setting of a well-vaccinated population, such as we have in Canada, you still have the ability, unfortunately, to transmit the virus."

Scientific Director of the Ontario COVID-19 Science Advisory Table Dr. Peter Juni said he's concerned about the rising trend in the wastewater.

"I just see a strong resurgence now happening. In the Eastern Health Region, the slope is actually as steep as what we saw in December or even potentially steeper," he said. "Our hospital numbers are going up and they’re now going up considerably steeper than our moderate transmission we had in our modelling and this is hardly surprising."

Juni said masking is an immediate intervention that can help reduce transmission.

"I really think it’s important in each public health unit to consider the local situation and at least recommend that people mask up, at the very minimum."

Ontario health officials reported more than 1,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19 province-wide, a 38 per cent increase in the last seven days. The province also reported nine more COVID-19 related deaths, including four that were caused by COVID-19, four where the virus contributed to the individual’s death but was not the underlying cause, and one case where the cause of death is missing or unknown.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (March 28 to April 3): 110.1 (down from 111.0)
• Seven-day average of positivity rate in the Ottawa community, excluding long-term care homes (April 3): 19.01 per cent
• Known active cases: 1,474

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

These figures are updated every Monday.

• Ottawa residents with 1 dose (5+): 914,850 (+350)
• Ottawa residents with 2 doses (5+): 877,672 (+721)
• Ottawa residents with 3 doses (12+): 565,552 (+2,370)
• Share of population five and older with at least one dose: 92 per cent
• Share of population five and older fully vaccinated: 88 per cent
• Share of population 12 and older with at least three doses: 62 per cent 

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

AROUND THE REGION

• Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 7 in hospital, 0 in ICU
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 20 in hospital, 2 in ICU
• Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 12 in hospital, 3 in ICU 
• Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit: 16 in hospital, 4 in ICU
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 12 in hospital, 1 in ICU
• Outaouais (Gatineau and western Quebec): 14 in hospital, 1 in ICU 

These figures are based on the latest data from each respective health unit at the time of publishing.

COVID-19 OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health is currently reporting active outbreaks in the following locations:

• 5 long-term care homes
• 2 retirement homes
• 3 hospital units
• 11 other congregate settings (group homes, supported independent living, etc.)

OPH no longer reports outbreaks in schools and childcare settings nor community outbreaks, such as those linked to local businesses, religious institutions, or sports and recreation activities.

A full list of locations with active outbreaks is available on OPH's COVID-19 dashboard.

--With files from CTV News Ottawa's Colton Praill.