Six more COVID-19 related deaths in Ottawa reported Saturday

Ottawa Public Health says six more people have died due to COVID-19 in Ottawa and hospitalizations are on the rise.

There have been 646 deaths related to COVID-19 in Ottawa since the pandemic began. Two men and four women, all over the age of 60, were included in OPH's update on Saturday.

The number of people currently in hospital to be treated for an active COVID-19 infection rose to 67 on Saturday, and there are now nine people in intensive care.

The Ottawa Hospital said the Omicron wave is unlike anything seen before in the pandemic, and they've had to make several operational changes.

"As much as we hate to say it – it's not business as usual," the hospital said in a statement on Friday.

OPH reported 469 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, though with testing restricted in Ontario, officials caution that case counts do not reflect the full picture of COVID-19 in the community. Another 839 previously reported cases are now considered resolved. The number of known active cases fell to just over 5,100. Last week, there were more than 8,000 known active cases in the city.

The COVID-19 wastewater monitoring project has been showing a steady rise in the viral signal since the start of the year, but there are signs the viral signal may have peaked and is levelling off. The current data shows a slight decline since Jan. 5.

OPH has so far recorded 52,746 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Ontario health officials said Saturday that there were 3,957 people in hospitals across the province with COVID-19, including 558 in intensive care. Forty-three COVID-19 related deaths were reported across Ontario on Saturday.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

• COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (Jan. 6 to 12): 346.5 (down from 385.1)  
• Positivity rate in Ottawa (Jan. 7 to Jan. 13): 26.4 per cent (down from 32.0 per cent)
• Reproduction number (Seven day average): 0.82 (down from 0.83)
• Known active cases: 5,103 (-376)

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.

The number of known active cases is the number of confirmed cases (based on testing) minus the numbers of resolved cases and deaths. 

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

There are 67 people in Ottawa hospitals on Saturday who are being treated for an active COVID-19 infection, up from 61 on Friday.

There are nine people in the ICU, up from eight.

Age categories of people in hospital:

• 0-9: 2
• 10-19: 1 (1 in ICU)
• 20-29: 1
• 30-39: 0
• 40-49: 7 (3 in ICU)
• 50-59: 6
• 60-69: 11 (2 in ICU)
• 70-79: 20 (2 in ICU)
• 80-89: 15 (1 in ICU) 
• 90+: 4

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

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

As of Friday:

• Ottawa residents with 1 dose (5+): 901,196
• Ottawa residents with 2 doses (5+): 832,182
• Ottawa residents with 3 doses (12+): 454,569
• Share of population five and older with at least one dose: 91 per cent
• Share of population five and older fully vaccinated: 84 per cent 

*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: 65 in hospital, 8 in ICU
• Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 36 in hospital, 8 in ICU
• Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 16 in hospital, 10 in ICU
• Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: 24 in hospital, 6 in ICU
• Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 14 in hospital, 0 in ICU
• Outaouais: 116 in hospital, 4 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:

• 22 long-term care homes
• 43 retirement homes
• 28 hospital units
• 56 other congregate settings (group homes, supported independent living, etc.)
• 1 elementary school

OPH paused reporting on community outbreaks in workplaces, etc. as of Jan. 2.

A full list of locations with active outbreaks is available on OPH's COVID-19 dashboard.