OTTAWA -- Ottawa Public Health says 63 more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19, the lowest number of new cases reported so far this January.

This follows four straight days of triple-digit increases, including two that had more than 200 cases per day.

Across the province, health officials reported 2,903 new cases of COVID-19 after eight straight days of case counts above 3,000 per day. Forty-one more Ontarians have died. Public Health Ontario reported 68 cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa. Different data extraction times sometimes lead to discrepancies in daily case reporting between OPH and the province.

According to Ottawa Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 11,568 total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa since the pandemic began. 

No new deaths were reported on Tuesday. The pandemic death toll stands at 398 residents.

Despite the one-day drop in new cases, weekly trends in the city remain high, though they too have dropped slightly. The rate of new cases reported in the past seven days per 100,000 residents has dropped from a high of 95 to just under 91, while the estimated seven-day average for the reproduction rate--the number of additional people each person with the virus infects--has declined from 1.12 to 1.06.

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.

Hospitalizations are also continuing to rise.

OTTAWA'S COVID-19 KEY STATISTICS

A province-wide lockdown went into effect on Dec. 26, 2020. Ottawa Public Health moved Ottawa into its red zone last week.

Ottawa Public Health data:

  • COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 90.7 cases
  • Positivity rate in Ottawa: 4.6 per cent (Jan. 4 - Jan. 10)
  • Reproduction number: 1.06 (seven day average) 

VACCINES

The Ontario government says 11,448 doses of COVID-19 vaccines were administered on Monday and the province has administered 133,553 doses to date. The province says 6,046 people have received both doses and completed their vaccination.

As of Jan. 7, Ontario had received 196,025 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, according to Health Canada.

The Ottawa Hospital said Tuesday it had received and administered 16,575 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to date, including at the hospital's vaccination clinic and at long-term care homes through Ottawa Public Health.

The vaccination clinic at the Ottawa Hospital, which remains paused this week, will resume operations on Friday after a new shipment of vaccines arrives. 

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mayor Jim Watson said a new shipment of COVID-19 vaccines arrived Tuesday afternoon and would be distributed starting on Wednesday.

Watson also said that vaccination teams have been to 12 of Ottawa's 28 long-term care homes over the past week, vaccinating residents, caregivers and staff.

ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA

The number of people with known active cases in the city has dropped after a dramatic rise over the past week.

OPH says there are 1,157 active cases of COVID-19 in the city right now, down from a peak of 1,207 on Monday. The number of active cases had risen from 860 to 1,207 in just four days.

The reduction in active infections was driven by a large number of cases being declared resolved. OPH says 113 additional people's cases of COVID-19 have resolved and 10,013 of the 11,568 cases reported to date are considered resolved.

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.

 

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

There are now 33 Ottawa residents in hospital with COVID-19 complications, up from 29 on Monday. Eleven people remain in the ICU, the highest number of COVID-19 ICU patients since mid-October.

Of the people in hospital, two are 10 to 19 years old (one person is in the ICU), two are in their 20s, five are in their 50s (one person is in the ICU), eight are in their 60s (three people are in the ICU), 11 are in their 70s (six people are in the ICU), four are in their 80s, and one is 90 or older.

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: 2 new cases (800 total cases)
  • 10-19 years-old: 7 new cases (1,418 total cases)
  • 20-29 years-old: 13 new cases (2,434 total cases)
  • 30-39 years-old: 7 new cases (1,584 total cases)
  • 40-49 years-old: 11 new cases (1,515 total cases)
  • 50-59 years-old: 14 new cases (1,376 total cases)
  • 60-69-years-old: 1 new case (868 total cases)
  • 70-79 years-old: 2 new cases (549 total cases)
  • 80-89 years-old: 1 case reassigned to a diffferent category (605 total cases)
  • 90+ years old: 2 new cases (411 total cases)
  • Unknown: 5 new cases (8 cases total)

TESTING

Public Health Ontario says 44,802 COVID-19 tests were completed across the province and there are 43,154 tests remain under investigation.

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says 1,852 swabs were taken at assessment centres on Jan. 11 and local labs performed 3,965 COVID-19 tests. There are 2,332 test still in progress as of Jan. 12.

The positivity rate in Ottawa for the week of Jan. 4 to 10 is 4.6 per cent.

The average turnaround from the time the swab is taken at a testing site to the result is 33 hours.

CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION

  • Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 18 new cases
  • Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 2 cases removed
  • Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 4 new cases
  • Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: 4 new cases
  • Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 1 new cases
  • Outaouais region: 44 new cases

INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 32 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.

A COVID-19 outbreak at a local group home has ended, but OPH announced a new outbreak at another group home on Tuesday. An outbreak at Riverpath Retirement Residence has also ended. 

There are nine active community outbreaks.

Two involve retail workplaces, one is in a multi-unit dwelling, one is linked to a private event at a social setting, one is linked to sports and recreation, one is at a distribution workplace, one is at a health workplace, one is at a coprorate or office setting, and one is at a services workplace.

The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:

  1. Andrew Fleck Children's Services 

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

  1. Alta Vista Manor
  2. Besserer Place
  3. Carleton Lodge
  4. Carlingview Manor
  5. Centre D'Accueil Champlain
  6. Chartwell Duke of Devonshire Retirement Home
  7. Colonel By Retirement Home
  8. Extendicare Laurier Manor
  9. Extendicare Medex
  10. Extendicare New Orchard Lodge
  11. Extendicare Starwood
  12. Extendicare West End Villa
  13. Forest Hill
  14. Garry J. Armstrong long-term care home
  15. Grace Manor Long-term Care Home
  16. Granite Ridge long-term care home
  17. Group Home - 28608
  18. Group Home - 28740 (NEW)
  19. Hillel Lodge 
  20. Manoir Marochel
  21. Maplewood Retirement Community
  22. Portobello Retirement Residence
  23. Redwoods Retirement Residence
  24. Royal Ottawa Place
  25. Shelter - 27549
  26. Shelter - 28365
  27. Sisters of Charity Couvent Mont Saint-Joseph
  28. Sisters of Charity Maison Mère
  29. St. Patrick's Home
  30. Supported Independent Living - 28110
  31. Valley Stream Retirement Residence

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).