OTTAWA -- Ontario health officials are reporting a big drop in new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Ottawa.

In Wednesday's epidemiologic report, the province reported 39 cases of COVID-19, the lowest number so far in October, lower than the 54 cases reported on Oct. 11.

However, in its daily COVID-19 dashboard update, Ottawa Public Health issued a revised figure of 45 new cases, still the lowest so far in October, but slightly higher than what the province reported.

The new cases in Ottawa are among 721 new cases reported across Ontario, with a majority in the Toronto, York, and Peel regions.

According to Ottawa Public Health, there have been 5,707 total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa since the pandemic began.

No new deaths were reported on Wednesday. The death toll from COVID-19 in Ottawa stands at 297 residents.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

No new hospitalizations were reported on Wednesday, but the number remains at its highest level since mid-May.

OPH says there are 48 people in hospital with COVID-19 complications and 10 people in intensive care.

Of the people currently in the hospital, 10 are 90 years old or older (1 in ICU), five are in their 80s (1 in ICU), 14 are in their 70s (3 in ICU), 11 are in their 60s (4 in ICU), six are in their 50s (1 ICU), and two are in their 40s.

New monitoring figures from OPH show 99 per cent of acute hospital beds are occupied across the hospital system as of Oct. 12, down from 101 per cent on Oct. 7. Forty-four per cent if ICU beds are occupied and 16 per cent of ICU ventilator beds are occupied.

 

TESTING

Ontario performed 32,206 tests in the past 24 hours. The provincial backlog is 26,558, a slight increase over the backlog of 24,420 reported on Tuesday.

The Ottawa COVID-19 testing task force provided an update on testing figures for Oct. 13, including the backlog of tests remaining in Ottawa.

The task force said 2,067 swabs were taken at testing facilities in Ottawa on Oct. 13 and local labs processed 2,960 tests. The testing backlog jumped to 1,602 tests, after the task force reported it was down to 324 tests on Oct. 12.

ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA

The number of known active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa dropped on Wednesday driven by a large number of new recoveries and an overall low number of new infections.

OPH says it is aware of 769 active cases of COVID-19 currently in Ottawa, down from 839 in Tuesday's report.

115 more people have recovered from COVID-19, bringing the city's recovery rate to 4,641 cases since the pandemic began. 

The number of active cases is the number of total laboratory-confirmed cases minus the numbers of resolved cases and deaths. A case is considered resolved 14 days after known symptom onset or positive test result.

 

CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY

Here is a breakdown of all known COVID-19 cases in Ottawa by age category:

  • 0-9 years old: 3 new cases (359 cases total)
  • 10-19 years-old: 6 new cases (579 cases total)
  • 20-29 years-old: 9 new cases (1,259 cases total)
  • 30-39 years-old: 6 new cases (773 cases total)
  • 40-49 years-old: 7 new cases (724 cases total)
  • 50-59 years-old: 7 new cases (648 cases total)
  • 60-69-years-old: 2 new cases (452 cases total)
  • 70-79 years-old: 2 new cases (299 cases total)
  • 80-89 years-old: 3 new cases (362 cases total)
  • 90+ years old: 1 new case (249 cases total)

The ages of three cases are still unknown.

INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 73 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.

Three additional schools were placed in outbreak status: École élémentaire Catholique Saint-Joseph-d'Orléans, St. Jerome Catholic School, and St. Joseph High School.

The outbreak at Garneau high school has ended.

There are three active community outbreaks at unidentified workplaces.

The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:

  1. Abraar Elementary School
  2. Adult High School ESL Childcare Program
  3. Andrew Fleck Children's Services – 2020-10-05
  4. Andrew Fleck Children's Services – 2020-10-06
  5. Andrew Fleck Children's Services – 2020-10-07
  6. Andrew Fleck Children's Services - 2020-10-12
  7. Centre parascholaire Alpha
  8. Children's Village of Ottawa Carleton (4)
  9. Dalhousie Parents Daycare
  10. École élémentaire Catholique Horizon-Jeunesse
  11. École élémentaire Catholique Sainte-Kateri
  12. École élémentaire Catholique Sainte-Marie
  13. École élémentaire Catholique Saint-Joseph-d'Orléans (NEW)
  14. École élémentaire publique Seraphin Marion
  15. École publique Le Transit Le CAP
  16. École secondaire Catholique Franco-Cité
  17. École secondaire publique Louis-Riel
  18. Garderie Tunney's Daycare
  19. La Coccinelle – Reine Des Bois
  20. Matreshka Child Care Centre (NEW)
  21. Service A L'Enfance Aladin, St-Anne
  22. St. Jerome Catholic School (NEW)
  23. St. Joseph High School (NEW)
  24. St. Luke School

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

  1. Association pour intégration sociale d'Ottawa - 2
  2. Association pour intégration sociale d'Ottawa - 3
  3. Association pour intégration sociale d'Ottawa - 4
  4. Association pour intégration sociale d'Ottawa - 5
  5. Association pour intégration sociale d'Ottawa - 6
  6. Bairn Croft Residential Services - Oct. 5 
  7. Bairn Croft Residential Services - French Hill Residence
  8. Bridlewood Trails
  9. Carlingview Manor
  10. Centre d'accueil Champlain
  11. Christian Horizons 9
  12. Cité Parkway Retirement Residence
  13. Colonel By retirement home
  14. Edinburgh Retirement Home
  15. Emergency Housing West
  16. Extendicare Medex
  17. Extendicare New Orchard Lodge
  18. Fairfield Retirement Home
  19. Forest Hill (NEW)
  20. Garry J. Armstrong
  21. Governor's Walk (NEW)
  22. Jardin Royal Garden (NEW)
  23. Laurier Manor
  24. Longfields Manor
  25. Madonna Care Community
  26. Manoir Marochel
  27. Montfort Hospital "3e Santé Mental"
  28. Montfort Hospital "4C Med"
  29. New Edinburgh Square Chartwell
  30. The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus ER
  31. Perley Rideau Veterans' Health Centre - Gatineau Building
  32. Peter D. Clark
  33. Prince of Wales Manor
  34. Promenade Retirement Residence
  35. The Ravines retirement home
  36. Rideau Place
  37. Rooming House
  38. Royal Ottawa Place long-term care home
  39. Sisters of Charity retirement home
  40. St. Patrick's Home
  41. St. Vincent Hospital 5 North
  42. Starwood
  43. Tamir Foundation
  44. Waterford Retirement Community
  45. Welcome Home Residence
  46. West End Villa
  47. Westwood Building 1 retirement home
  48. Wildpine Retirement Home (NEW)
  49. Windsor Park retirement home

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, a single confirmed, symptomatic case in a staff member, home daycare provider, or child triggers an outbreak.

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).