One new COVID-19 death in Ottawa Sunday; hospitalizations down

Ottawa Public Health says one more person has died of COVID-19, as Sunday's snapshot report shows a decrease in the number of people hospitalized because of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including in the ICU.

OPH has recorded 647 COVID-19 related deaths in the capital since the pandemic began. Six deaths were reported on Saturday.

The number of hospitalizations because of an active COVID-19 infection in Ottawa dropped to 62 from 67, and there are now seven people in ICU, down from nine.

Ottawa Public Health reports only hospitalizations among Ottawa residents with a hospital intervention for active COVID-19. To count as a hospitalization intervention, the hospitalization must involve treatment for an active COVID-19 infection or have a hospital stay extended because of active COVID-19. This also applies to people who may acquire COVID-19 while in hospital. Local hospitals have reported higher numbers of patients who have tested positive for COVID-19.

As of Jan. 14, the Montfort Hospital was reporting 44 COVID-19 positive patients, the Queensway Carleton Hospital was reporting 81, and CHEO had 11. The latest figures from the Ottawa Hospital included 148 patients who were positive for COVID-19.

On Sunday, OPH reported 391 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. With testing access restricted in Ontario, health officials caution that case counts are an underrepresentation of the true amount of COVID-19 in the community. Another 408 previously reported cases are now considered resolved, and the count of known active cases is now below 5,100. Last week, OPH reported more than 8,300 active cases.

The COVID-19 wastewater monitoring project has been showing a decline the in the viral signal in its most recent reporting. The seven-day rolling mean viral signal has been on a decline since Jan. 9, with data presented up to Jan. 12.

At the provincial level, health officials confirmed 3,595 people are hospitalized with COVID-19, including 579 in intensive care. The number of people in hospital dropped on Sunday from Saturday's record count of 3,957, but some hospitals don't report data to the province on the weekends.

Forty COVID-19 deaths were reported provincewide on Sunday.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (Jan. 8 to 14): 329.7 (down from 346.5)   
• Positivity rate in Ottawa (Jan. 7 to Jan. 13): 26.4 per cent (down from 32.0 per cent)
• Reproduction number (Seven day average): 0.82 (unchanged)
• Known active cases: 5,085 (-18)

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 number of known active cases is the number of confirmed cases (based on testing) minus the numbers of resolved cases and deaths. 

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

There are 62 people in Ottawa hospitals on Sunday who are being treated for an active COVID-19 infection, down from 67 on Saturday.

There are seven people in the ICU, down from nine.

Age categories of people in hospital:

• 0-9: 2
• 10-19: 1 (1 in ICU)
• 20-29: 1
• 30-39: 0
• 40-49: 3 (1 in ICU)
• 50-59: 6
• 60-69: 11 (2 in ICU)
• 70-79: 20 (2 in ICU)
• 80-89: 14 (1 in ICU) 
• 90+: 4

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

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

As of Friday:

• Ottawa residents with 1 dose (5+): 901,196
• Ottawa residents with 2 doses (5+): 832,182
• Ottawa residents with 3 doses (12+): 454,569
• Share of population five and older with at least one dose: 91 per cent
• Share of population five and older fully vaccinated: 84 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: 65 in hospital, 8 in ICU
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 36 in hospital, 8 in ICU
• Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 16 in hospital, 10 in ICU
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: 24 in hospital, 6 in ICU
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 14 in hospital, 0 in ICU
• Outaouais: 113 in hospital, 4 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:

• 22 long-term care homes
• 43 retirement homes
• 32 hospital units
• 53 other congregate settings (group homes, supported independent living, etc.)
• 1 elementary school

OPH paused reporting on community outbreaks in workplaces, etc. as of Jan. 2.

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