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    • Ottawa sets new COVID-19 case record on Christmas Eve

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    The city of Ottawa is seeing a third straight day with record COVID-19 case numbers as families prepare to celebrate Christmas in-person and virtually.

    Ottawa Public Health reported 698 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, smashing the previous record of 466 cases on Thursday.

    Wednesday’s case count of 387 was also a record.

    Public health says 523 of the 698 new cases in Ottawa on Christmas Eve involve residents under the age of 40.

    Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa in March 2020, there have been 36,484 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 620 deaths.

    Ottawa's COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says testing capacity in Ottawa and across Ontario is "under strain", and timely access may not be available to everyone with COVID-19 symptoms. Walk-in testing has been paused at Ottawa's clinics to keep testing capacity available for essential workers.

    Across Ontario, there are 9,571 new cases of COVID-19, surpassing Thursday's record-breaking total of 5,790 cases.  Health officials reported 2,456 cases in Toronto and 1,113 cases in Peel Region.

    Ontario's rolling seven-day average has soared to 4,922, up from 1,914 at this point last week.

    Ottawa Public Health says it will not provide a COVID-19 update on cases in Ottawa on Christmas Day and Dec. 26.

    OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

    • COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (Dec 16 to Dec. 22): 248.1 (up from 212.6)                
    • Positivity rate in Ottawa (Dec. 17 to Dec. 23): 13.6 per cent (up from 10.5 per cent) 
    • Reproduction number (Seven day average): 1.79

    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.

    VACCINATED VS. UNVACCINATED CASE NUMBERS

    • New cases among unvaccinated residents: 1,536 (55.53 per 100,000)
    • New cases among partially vaccinated residents: 356 (55.78 per 100,000)
    • New cases among fully vaccinated residents: 7,425  (65.54 per 100,000)
    • Number of cases among residents with an unknown vaccination status: 254 (31.93 cases per 100,000)
    • Number of unvaccinated/partially individuals in Ontario hospitals: 304
    • Number of fully vaccinated individuals in Ontario hospitals: 136
    • Number of unvaccinated/partially vaccinated people in Ontario ICUs: 136
    • Number of fully vaccinated people in Ontario ICUs: 28

    (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 Friday:

    • Ottawa residents with 1 dose (5+): 889,629 (+2,082)
    • Ottawa residents with 2 doses (5+): 819,134 (+1,106)
    • Ottawa residents with 3 doses (12+): 231,459
    • Share or population five and older with at least one dose: 90 per cent
    • Share of population five and older fully vaccinated: 83 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 3,355 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday, up from 2,783 active cases on Thursday and 2,435 cases on Wednesday.

    Ottawa Public Health reported 126 newly resolved cases of COVID-19. The total number of resolved cases of coronavirus in Ottawa is 32,509.

    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 eight people in Ottawa-area hospitals with COVID-19 related illnesses on Friday, up from seven on Thursday.

    There have been no patients in Ottawa's ICUs since Dec. 10.

    Age categories of people in hospital:

    • 0-9: 1
    • 10-19: 0
    • 20-29: 1
    • 30-39: 0
    • 40-49: 0
    • 50-59: 0
    • 60-69: 0
    • 70-79: 2
    • 80-89: 4
    • 90+: 0

    (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: 91 new cases (3,676 total cases)
    • 10-19 years-old: 104 new cases (5,006 total cases)
    • 20-29 years-old: 174 new cases (8,018 total cases)
    • 30-39 years-old: 154 new cases (5,718 total cases)
    • 40-49 years-old: 83 new cases (4,800 total cases)
    • 50-59 years-old: 60 new cases (4,127 total cases)
    • 60-69-years-old: 17 new cases (2,355 total cases)
    • 70-79 years-old: 8 new cases (1,282 total cases)
    • 80-89 years-old: Five new cases (940 total cases)
    • 90+ years old: Three new cases (559 total cases)
    • Unknown: Zero new cases (3 cases total)

    VARIANTS OF CONCERN

    • Total Alpha (B.1.1.7) cases: 6,850
    • Total Beta (B.1.351) cases: 513
    • Total Gamma (P.1) cases: 55
    • Total Delta (B.1.617.2) cases: 1,655
    • Total Omicron (B.1.1.529) cases: 104
    • Total variants of concern/mutation cases: 13,968
    • 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 3,240 swabs were processed at assessment centres on Wednesday. A total of 4,967 lab tests were performed on Dec. 22.

    The average turnaround from the time a swab is taken at a testing site to the result is 29 hours.

    CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION

    • Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 156 new cases
    • Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 105 new cases
    • Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 195 new cases
    • Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: 106 new cases
    • Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 10 new cases

    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: Two outbreaks (one new)
    • Workplace – Construction: Two outbreaks
    • Workplace – Corporate/Office: One outbreak
    • Workplace – Restaurant: Three outbreaks (new new)
    • Workplace – Retail: Three outbreaks

    Schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks: 

    • École élémentaire catholique St. François d'Assise (Nov. 24)
    • École élémentaire catholique Elisabeth-Bruyère (Dec. 1) 
    • Mifo Notre-Dame-Des-Champs – Service Garde Agrees Centre ( Dec. 2)
    • Featherston Drive Public School (Dec. 6) 
    • École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-Paul II (Dec. 7) 
    • Osgoode Township High School (Dec. 7) 
    • Grandir Ensemble Services de Garde Agréés en Centre (Dec. 9) 
    • Imagination Station Licenced Child Care (Dec. 10)
    • Jockvale Elementary School (Dec. 10) 
    • École secondaire publique Pierre-de-Blois (Dec. 11) 
    • Holy Spirit Elementary School (Dec. 11) 
    • Pleasant Park Public School (Dec. 12) 
    • St. Gabriel Elementary School (Dec. 12) 
    • École élémentaire catholique d'enseignment personnalisé La Source (Dec. 13) 
    • Glebe Collegiate Institute (Dec. 13) 
    • École élémentaire catholique Pierre Elliott Trudeau (Dec. 14)
    • Georges Vanier Catholic Elementary School (Dec. 14)
    • Knoxdale Public School (Dec. 14) 
    • Sacred Heart High School (Dec. 14) 
    • St. Gregory Elementary School (Dec. 14) NEW
    • École secondaire catholique Franco-Cité (Dec. 15) 
    • Ottawa Forest & Nature Licenced Childcare (Dec. 15) 
    • St. Peter High School (Dec. 15) 
    • St. John XXIII Elementary School (Dec. 15) 
    • Torah Academy of Ottawa Elementary School (Dec. 16) 
    • Garderie Providence Services de Garde Agréés en Centre (Dec. 16)
    • Merivale High School (Dec. 16) 
    • Sir Wilfrid Laurier Seconday School (Dec. 16) 
    • École élémentaire catholique Alain Fortin (Dec. 17) 
    • École élémentaire catholique d'enseignment personnalisé Édouard Bond (Dec. 17) 
    • École élémentaire catholique Montfort (Dec. 17) 
    • St. Patrick Elementary School (Dec. 17) 
    • Mothercraft Licenced Home Childcare (Dec. 18) 
    • École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Geneviève (Dec. 20) 
    • Steve MacLean Public School (Dec. 21)
    • École élémentaire publiques Gisele-Lalonde (Dec. 21)
    • École élémentaire catholique Pierre-Savard (Dec. 21)
    • École élémentaire catholique Paul-Desmarais (Dec. 21) NEW
    • École élémentaire catholique De La Decouverte (Dec. 21)
    • École élémentaire catholique Franco-Ouest (Dec. 22) NEW
    • École élémentaire catholique Terre-des-Jeunes (Dec. 22)

    Healthcare and congregate settings experiencing outbreaks:

    • St. Patrick's Home - Floors 3, 4, 5 (Nov. 17)
    • Group Home (Dec. 6)
    • Group Home (Dec. 7)
    • Extendicare Starwood - Unit 2 (Dec. 19) 
    • The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus - Unit A3 (Dec. 19) 
    • The Glebe Centre (Dec. 21)
    • Peter D. Clark long-term care home (Dec. 21)
    • Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre (Dec. 21)
    • Robertson House Retirement Community (Dec. 22) NEW
    • Group Home (Dec. 22) NEW
    • Saint Vincent Hospial – 2 South Union (Dec. 23) NEW

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