Ottawa Public Health reports more than 300 cases for third time in four days

Ottawa Public Health says another 312 people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19, marking the third time in four days that the daily case count has exceeded 300. Hospitalizations remain low, with one fewer patient with an active case.

To date, OPH has recorded 34,608 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began. No new deaths were reported on Monday, keeping the pandemic death toll at 620 residents, locally.

The city's rolling seven-day average is 226.4, up from 96.0 this time last week and up from 38.0 four weeks ago.

The number of known active cases is approaching 2,000, the highest level seen since early May.

The testing positivity rate in Ottawa continues to rise. This weekend, OPH said testing capacity was at its limit, urging residents who have COVID-19 symptoms but who cannot get a timely test to assume they have the Omicron variant and self-isolate.

Across Ontario, health officials confirmed 3,784 new infections. No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported in the province on Monday. Another 1,040 previously reported cases are now considered resolved.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (Dec 12 to Dec. 18): 143.0 (up fom 132.6)              
• Positivity rate in Ottawa (Dec. 13 to Dec. 19): 8.7 per cent (up from 6.3 per cent)
• Reproduction number (Seven day average): 1.59

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.

UNVACCINATED CASES

Of the 3,784 cases of COVID-19 reported in Ontario on Monday, 746 are in unvaccinated individuals, for a rate of 26.26 cases for every 100,000 unvaccinated people,  2,781 are in fully vaccinated individuals, for a rate of 24.60 cases for every 100,000 fully vaccinated people, and 119 are in partially vaccinated individuals for a rate of 20.31 cases for every 100,000 partially vaccinated people. The vaccination status of the remaining 138 cases is unknown.

More than 11.3 million Ontarians are fully vaccinated. Health experts have noted the number of COVID-19 infections identified in fully vaccinated individuals will naturally increase as more people get both of their shots. Vaccination helps reduce the risk of severe symptoms related to COVID-19 as well as hospitalization.

Data on rates of vaccination among hospitalized patients in Ontario is not available on Mondays as some hospitals don't report to the province on weekends.

(n.b. The rate per 100,000 population is used to compare the total populations of unvaccinated individuals, partially vaccinated, and fully vaccinated individuals against each other, as their respective populations are different. There are more fully vaccinated people in Ontario than there are unvaccinated people in Ontario, so a calculation dividing new cases by the respective populations and then multiplying that figure by 100,000 is used as a comparative measure. Rates per 100,000 are published daily by the Ontario government.)

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

Ottawa Public Health releases vaccine numbers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

As of Monday:

• Ottawa residents with 1 dose (5+): 888,599 (+3,701)
• Ottawa residents with 2 doses (5+): 819,816 (+1,094)
• Ottawa residents with 3 doses (18+): 156,763 (+35,776)
• Share or population five and older with at least one dose: 89 per cent
• Share of population five and older fully vaccinated: 82 per cent

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

ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA

There are 1,941 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Monday, up from 1,695 on Sunday.

It's the highest number of active cases in Ottawa since May 5.

Ottawa Public Health reported 66 newly resolved cases of COVID-19. The total number of resolved cases of coronavirus in Ottawa is 32,047.

The number of active cases is the number of total laboratory-confirmed 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 Cases in Ottawa
Infogram

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

There are four people in Ottawa area hospitals with COVID-19 related illnesses on Monday, down from five on Sunday.

There have been no patients in Ottawa's ICUs for more than a week.

Age categories of people in hospital:

• 0-9: 0
• 10-19: 0
• 20-29: 0
• 30-39: 0
• 40-49: 0
• 50-59: 0
• 60-69: 0
• 70-79: 1
• 80-89: 2
• 90+: 1

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

COVID-19 CASES IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY

• 0-9 years old: 28 new cases (3,488 total cases)
• 10-19 years-old: 65 new cases (4,704 total cases)
• 20-29 years-old: 69 new cases (7,548 total cases)
• 30-39 years-old: 62 new cases (5,351 total cases)
• 40-49 years-old: 34 new cases (4,566 total cases)
• 50-59 years-old: 37 new cases (3,935 total cases)
• 60-69-years-old: 13 new cases (2,284 total cases)
• 70-79 years-old: Three new cases (1,248 total cases)
• 80-89 years-old: Two new cases (926 total cases)
• 90+ years old: Zero new cases (555 total cases)
• Unknown: One case removed from total (3 cases total)

VARIANTS OF CONCERN

• Total Alpha (B.1.1.7) cases: 6,849
• Total Beta (B.1.351) cases: 513
• Total Gamma (P.1) cases: 55
• Total Delta (B.1.617.2) cases: 1,569
• Total Omicron (B.1.1.529) cases: 28
• Total variants of concern/mutation cases: 13,548
• Deaths linked to variants/mutations: 124

*OPH notes that that VOC and mutation trends must be treated with caution due to the varying time required to complete VOC testing and/or genomic analysis following the initial positive test for SARS-CoV-2. Test results may be completed in batches and data corrections or updates can result in changes to case counts that may differ from past reports.

COVID-19 TESTING IN OTTAWA

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says 2,393 swabs were processed at assessment centres on Sunday and labs performed 4,896 tests. 

The average turnaround from the time a swab is taken at a testing site to the result is 35 hours.

Ottawa's testing positivity rate for the week of Dec. 13-19 is 8.7 per cent.

CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION

• Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 42 new cases
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 70 new cases
• Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 130 new cases
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: 55 new cases
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 10 new cases
• Outaouais: 349 new cases since Friday

COVID-19 OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health reports COVID-19 outbreaks at institutions and community outbreaks in Ottawa.

Community outbreaks:

• Multi-unit dwelling: One outbreak
• Sports & Recreation– Recreation: One outbreak
• Workplace – Construction: Two outbreaks
• Workplace – Corporate/Office: One outbreak
• Workplace – Recreation: One outbreak
• Workplace – Restaurant: One outbreak
• Workplace – Retail: Three outbreaks

Schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks: 

1. École élémentaire catholique St. François d'Assise (Nov. 24)
2. École élémentaire catholique Elisabeth-Bruyère (Dec. 1) 
3. Mifo Notre-Dame-Des-Champs – Service Garde Agrees Centre ( Dec. 2)
4. Berrigan Elementary School (Dec. 3) 
5. Featherston Drive Public School (Dec. 6) 
6. École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-Paul II (Dec. 7) 
7. Osgoode Township High School (Dec. 7) 
8. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton elementary school (Dec. 7) 
9. Vimy Ridge Public School (Dec. 7) 
10. Imagination Station Licenced Child Care (Dec. 10)
11. Jockvale Elementary School (Dec. 10) 
12. École secondaire publique Pierre-de-Blois (Dec. 11) 
13. Holy Spirit Elementary School (Dec. 11) 
14. Katimavik Elementary School (Dec. 11)
15. Pleasant Park Public School (Dec. 12) 
16. St. Gabriel Elementary School (Dec. 12) 
17. École élémentaire catholique d'enseignment personnalisé La Source (Dec. 13) 
18. Glebe Collegiate Institute (Dec. 13) 
19. École élémentaire catholique Pierre Elliott Trudeau (Dec. 14)
20. Georges Vanier Catholic Elementary School (Dec. 14)
21. Knoxdale Public School (Dec. 14) 
22. Sacred Heart High School (Dec. 14) 
23. École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité (Dec. 15) 
24. Ottawa Forest & Nature Licenced Childcare (Dec. 15) NEW
25. St. Peter High School (Dec. 15) 
26. St. John XXIII Elementary School (Dec. 15) 
27. Torah Academy of Ottawa Elementary School (Dec. 16) 
28. Merivale High School (Dec. 16) 
29. Sir Wilfrid Laurier Seconday School (Dec. 16) 
30. École élémentaire catholique Alain Fortin (Dec. 17) 
31. École élémentaire catholique d'enseignment personnalisé Édouard Bond (Dec. 17) 
32. École élémentaire catholique Montfort (Dec. 17) NEW
33. St. Patrick Elementary School (Dec. 17) 
34. Mothercraft Licenced Home Childcare (Dec. 18) NEW

Healthcare and congregate settings experiencing outbreaks:

• St. Patrick's Home - Floors 3, 4, 5 (Nov. 17)
• Group Home (Dec. 6)
• Group Home (Dec. 7)
• Granite Ridge Long-term Care Home - Memory Care Unit (Dec. 14)