COVID-19 wastewater signal trending down as school returns

The latest data showing the amount of COVID-19 in Ottawa’s wastewater is showing a downward trend through the end of August, just as students return to their classrooms.

Preliminary projections from the Ottawa COVID-19 wastewater monitoring project show the downward trend is expected to continue for the first week of September.

While the viral average has been trending downward for the latter part of August, the viral signal is higher than it was at this time last year and in 2020.

• FULL COVERAGE: Back to school

Hundreds of thousands of students returned to elementary, high school, and post-secondary classrooms Tuesday and health experts are anticipating a rise in transmission in the coming weeks.

Ottawa Public Health reported one new COVID-19 death over the long weekend. The number of residents in hospital because of an active case of COVID-19 dropped to 20 from 30 last Tuesday. One person is in the ICU.

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: 61 patients (up from 58 on Aug. 29)
• Queensway Carleton Hospital: 11 patients (up from 7 patients Aug. 30)
• Montfort Hospital: 15 patients (up from 12 patients Aug. 30)
• CHEO: Five patients (unchanged from Aug. 30)

Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in Ottawa in March 2020, OPH has reported 81,035 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 878 fatal cases. The number of known active cases and active COVID-19 outbreaks is on the decline.

Ottawa's COVID-19 wastewater monitoring data. Snapshot taken Sept. 6, 2022. (Source: https://613covid.ca/wastewater/)

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (Aug. 29 – Sept. 4): 32. 0 (down from 39.8)
• Seven-day average of positivity rate in the Ottawa community, including long-term care: 11 per cent (up from 10 per cent)
• Known active cases: 520 (-115)

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

Updated Aug. 29

• Ottawa residents with 1 dose (5+): 921,024
• Ottawa residents with 2 doses (5+): 886,849
• Ottawa residents with 3 doses (12+): 590,544
• Share of population five and older with at least one dose: 93 per cent
• Share of population five and older fully vaccinated: 89 per cent
• Share of population 12 and older with at least three doses: 65 per cent

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

AROUND THE REGION

• Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 6 in hospital, 1 in ICU
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 21 in hospital, 1 in ICU  (Updated on Tuesdays only)
• Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 12 in hospital, 3 in ICU (as of Aug. 30)
• Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit: 6 in hospital, 1 in ICU (Updated on Wednesdays)
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 9 in hospital, 0 in ICU (as of Sept. 1)
• Outaouais (Gatineau and western Quebec): 85 in hospital, 3 in ICU

COVID-19 OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health is currently reporting active outbreaks in the following locations (as of Friday, Aug. 19):

• 5 in group homes
• 10 in hospitals
• 10 in long-term care homes
• 8 in retirement homes

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 outbreak dashboard.