Ottawa COVID-19 wastewater viral signal reaches new high

Hospitalizations from COVID-19 in Ottawa are still holding steady, but wastewater readings are reaching new highs as public health officials warn of a resurgence of the virus.

Ottawa Public Health reported nine people in hospital on Thursday due to an active case of COVID-19, up from eight on Wednesday. There are zero COVID-19 patients in the ICU.

But the average levels of COVID-19 in Ottawa's wastewater have reached a record high. That indicator and Ottawa's positivity rate (now 17.3 per cent) are signs of what Ottawa Public Health calls a "concerning" increase in the virus's spread.

Medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches said Wednesday the health unit has informed the office of Ontario’s chief medical officer of health about the rising levels of the virus in Ottawa’s wastewater and high test positivity rate.

Etches warned that hospitalizations are often a lagging indicator of COVID-19 community spread.

The rising indicators are leading to growing calls from the community to bring back mask mandates and capacity limits.

“I feel a great sense of unease,” says Ottawa resident Carolyn Moffatt.

Moffatt says she called the provincial hotline to raise her concerns but was told it was up to her local public health officials to impose mandates.

“I am not sure who is protecting us, and what the threshold is to meet the protecting. What is the trigger point?”

Moffatt say she is concerned especially for school aged children and those who cannot be vaccinated.

“I am not asking for masks to be used forever, just in targeted times, times like this. This should be a targeted time when masks are needed.”

Etches says she continues to communicate with Ontario’s chief medical officer of health- Dr Kieran Moore, about the COVID-19 surge in Ottawa. Etches has said she is concerned about the rise of COVID-19 but is not ready yet to impose a Section 22 order, a tool that local health units can impose to impose things like mask mandates to protect public health.

She is encouraging Ottawa residents to mask up and get vaccinated and boosted.

Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said Thursday there are no plans to bring back mask mandates or capacity limits, saying the province's top doctor Dr. Kieran Moore "is of the opinion that at this point we are able to now learn to live with some continued cases of COVID.

“Unfortunately it is not going away completely just yet. But we need to move on and continue firstly, with the reopening of our economy but also so that people can get back to a more normal way of life.”

Provincewide, officials reported more than 800 people in hospital with COVID-19 as the positivity rate continues to rise.

“We knew that the numbers of COVID patients were going to go up as we opened up Ontario and released some of our COVID measures, so there is no surprise here,” Elliott said.

“We are now at a stage where the peak of the pandemic has passed us. We need to get on with our lives and learn to live with COVID as it still exists with us.”

OPH figures only reflect residents who are being treated specifically because of an active case of COVID-19. Local hospitals report their own figures on patients who have tested positive.

 

COVID-19 hospitalization in Ottawa in 2022
Infogram

Here is a look at how many COVID-19 patients are in each hospital:

• The Ottawa Hospital: 30 patients
• Queensway Carleton Hospital: Eight patients
• Montfort Hospital: Four patients
• CHEO: Five patients

The public health unit added 197 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 to its total count on Thursday. Daily case counts are considered an underrepresentation of the true amount of COVID-19 in the community in large part because of ongoing provincial restrictions on who is eligible for PCR testing.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (March 23 to 29): 82.7 (up from 78.1)             
• Positivity rate in the Ottawa community (excluding long-term care homes) (March 23 to 29): 17.3 per cent
• Known active cases: 1,155

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

These figures are updated every Monday.

• Ottawa residents with 1 dose (5+): 914,500 (+71)
• Ottawa residents with 2 doses (5+): 876,951 (+894)
• Ottawa residents with 3 doses (12+): 563,182 (+2,511)
• Share of population five and older with at least one dose: 92 per cent 
• Share of population five and older fully vaccinated: 88 per cent
• Share of population 12 and older with at least three doses: 62 per cent (+1)

*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: 8 in hospital, 0 in ICU
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 17 in hospital, 2 in ICU
• Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 15 in hospital, 6 in ICU 
• Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit: 17 in hospital, 5 in ICU
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 12 in hospital, 1 in ICU
• Outaouais (Gatineau and western Quebec): 10 in hospital, 2 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:

• 3 long-term care homes
• 4 retirement homes
• 5 hospital units
• 8 other congregate settings (group homes, supported independent living, etc.)

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 dashboard.