Ottawa hospitals report zero COVID-19 patients

OTTAWA -

Just over two months ago, the Ottawa Hospital was treating more COVID-19 patients than ever.

It was May 3 and the hospital had 82 patients with COVID-19, as the province dealt with a third wave that threatened to overwhelm the health care system.

On Thursday, a new sign of how dramatically things have changed. The hospital has zero active COVID-19 cases.

“This is a testament the progress that our community has made in reducing the spread of the virus,” said a news release from the hospital. “We are trending in the right direction.”

The Montfort and Queensway Carleton hospitals are also reporting no active cases of the virus. Ottawa reached a peak of 124 COVID-19 patients in hospital on April 25.

The Queensway Carleton posted photos of staff marking the milestone on Thursday.

The encouraging milestone comes as Ottawa’s vaccination coverage continues to increase. More than 80 per cent of people 12 and older have now received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to Ottawa Public Health. Nearly half of the eligible population has received both doses.

Last week, the number of COVID-19 patients in Ottawa ICUs dropped to zero for the first time this year.

The hospital anticipates having new COVID-19 patients again, because there is still community transmission of the virus. And the hospital continues to care for long-haul COVID-19 patients dealing with the effects of the virus.

Across Ontario, there are still nearly 200 people in hospital with COVID-19.

But Thursday’s milestone is yet another indicator that the worst of the pandemic is in the rearview mirror.

“It has been a difficult year and a half, but finally it feels like there is a light at the end of the tunnel,” the hospital news release said.