OTTAWA -- Ottawa Public Health is reporting 64 more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19 and one more person has died.

The update Tuesday brings Ottawa's pandemic total to 16,252 cases since March 11, 2020. The pandemic has claimed the lives of 457 residents of Ottawa.

There were 1,546 new cases reported across Ontario on Tuesday. The province also reported nine new deaths and 1,271 newly resolved cases.

Two more cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, first identified in the U.K. were confirmed in Ottawa on Tuesday, according to the province. To date, Ottawa has seen 21 confirmed cases of the B.1.1.7 variant and two confirmed cases of the B.1.351 variant. Ottawa has also seen 334 suspected variant cases, up from 333 on Monday.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

Ottawa is in "Red-Control" status under Ontario's COVID-19 framework.

Ottawa Public Health data:

  • COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (March 15-21): 55.0 down from 55.2 on Monday, up from 49.8 on Sunday)
  • Positivity rate in Ottawa: 3.9 per cent (March 15-21)
  • Reproduction number: 1.07 (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 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.

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. 

VACCINES IN OTTAWA

As of March 22:

  • Vaccine doses administered in Ottawa (first and second shots): 92,293 (up by 4,556 since Friday)*
  • COVID-19 doses received (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna): 97,170

*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."

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

There are 25 people currently in Ottawa-area hospitals with COVID-19 related illnesses, up from from 24 on Monday. Four people remain in intensive care.

Of the people in hospital, three are in their 30s, two are in their 40s, five are in their 50s (two are in the ICU), five are in their 60s (one is in the ICU), six are in their 70s (one is in the ICU), and four are in their 80s. 

ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA

The number of people with known active cases of COVID-19 fell slightly on Tuesday to 755 from 759 on Monday.

Sixty-seven more Ottawa residents have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19. Ottawa Public Health reports 15,040 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 TESTING

Ontario health officials say 32,556 COVID-19 tests were completed provincewide on Monday. 

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce said 2,910 swabs were taken at local assessment centres on Monday and labs performed 4,637 tests. 

The average turnaround from the time the swab is taken at testing site to the result is 44 hours.

COVID-19 CASES IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY

  • 0-9 years old: Eight new cases (1,244 total cases)
  • 10-19 years-old: 10 new cases (2,044 total cases)
  • 20-29 years-old: 10 new cases (3,550 total cases)
  • 30-39 years-old: 15 new cases (2,309 total cases)
  • 40-49 years-old: Five new cases (2,087 total cases)
  • 50-59 years-old: 13 new cases (1,954 total cases)
  • 60-69-years-old: Three new cases (1,168 total cases)
  • 70-79 years-old: One case removed (703 total cases)
  • 80-89 years-old: Zero new cases (719 total cases)
  • 90+ years old: One new case (471 total cases)
  • Unknown: Zero new cases (3 cases total)

COVID-19 CASES ACROSS THE REGION

  • Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 15 new cases
  • Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington: 9 new cases
  • Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit: 13 new cases
  • Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 1 case removed from total
  • Outaouais (Gatineau and western Quebec): 50 new cases

INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 37 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.

One new outbreak was declared at Franco-Cité high school. An outbreak at Julie Payette elementary school has ended.

There are five active community outbreaks: One is linked to a warehouse, one is linked to a construction workplace, and one is linked to a health workplace, one is linked to a restaurant, and one is in a multi-unit dwelling.

The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:

  1. Rodnichok Daycare (March 1)
  2. École élémentaire catholique Riverside South II (March 12)
  3. École secondaire catholique Pierre Savard (March 13)
  4. École élémentaire publique Séraphin-Marion (March 14)
  5. Nature and Nurture Childcare Services (March 14)
  6. St. Luke's Childcare Centre (March 15) [NEW]
  7. Vincent Massey Public School (March 17)
  8. École élémentaire catholique Arc-en-Ciel (March 19) 
  9. École élémentaire catholique Horizon-Jeunesse (March 19) 
  10. École secondaire publique Gisèle-Lalonde (March 19) 
  11. Henry Larsen Elementary School (March 19) 
  12. École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité (March 21) 

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

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

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, two children or staff or household member cases of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within a 14-day period where at least one case could have reasonably acquired their infection in the childcare establishment is considered an outbreak in a childcare establishment.

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.  

Correction:

A previous version of this article mistakenly said there were 14 COVID-19 patients in hospitals in Ottawa on Monday. That was a typo. There were 24.