68 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, COVID-19 incidence rate moves deeper into red zone

OTTAWA — Ottawa's COVID-19 incidence rate remains in the "red-control" threshold on Sunday, as Ottawa Public Health reports 68 new cases of COVID-19 in the capital.

There are no new deaths linked to COVID-19 in Ottawa.

Twenty-eight of the 68 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday involve residents between 40 and 60 years old.

Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 15,562 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 447 deaths.

On Saturday, Ottawa Public Health reported 94 new cases of COVID-19, the highest one-day increase in cases since January 23.  The 94 new cases of COVID-19 moved Ottawa's COVID-19 incidence rate to 40.1 cases per 100,000 people – the threshold to move into the "red-control" zone in Ontario's COVID-19 reopening framework.

Ottawa's COVID-19 incidence rate was 43.7 cases per 100,000 on Sunday.

Across Ontario, there are 1,747 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday. Officials caution the case count is higher than expected "due to a data catch-up process" with Ontario's reporting system.

Public Health Ontario reported 545 new cases in Toronto, 352 in Peel Region and 163 in York Region.

COVID-19 CASE DISCREPANCY

Public Health Ontario reported 83 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, compared to 68 new cases announced by Ottawa Public Health.

Ottawa Public Health has previously said the case discrepancy is based on when the case data is collected from the system.

On Sunday, Ottawa Public Health reported a total 15,562 laboratory-confirmed cases in Ottawa, while Public Health Ontario reported 15,541 cases.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

Ottawa is in "Orange-Restrict" status under Ontario's COVID-19 framework.

Ottawa Public Health data:

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 orange-restrict category of Ontario's COVID-19 framework includes a weekly rate of cases per 100,000 between 25 to 39.9, a percent positivity of 1.3 to 2.4 per cent, and a reproduction number of approximately 1 to 1.1.

The red-control threshold is a weekly incidence rate of 40 cases per 100,000 people and a positivity rate of 2.5 per cent.

VACCINES IN OTTAWA

As of March 12:

The city received a shipment of 9,360 doses of the Pfizer vaccine on Monday, March 8.

*OPH says staff were able to extract additional doses out of several vials, which were given to residents. In a statement on its dashboard, OPH said, "Vaccine inventory is based on an expected 5 dose per vial supply. Occasionally, an additional dose (6th dose) is successfully extracted and administered to clients."

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

There are 36 people in Ottawa-area hospitals with COVID-19 related illnesses, up from 34 on Saturday.

Three people are in the intensive care unit.

Ottawa Public Health is currently migrating its dashboard over to the provincial system, so data on the ages of the people currently in the hospital is unavailable.

ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA

The number of active cases in Ottawa of COVID-19 surpassed 600 on Sunday. There are 611 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, up from 595 active cases on Saturday and 570 on Friday.

Fifty-two more Ottawa residents have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19. Ottawa Public Health reports 14,504 resolved cases of COVID-19 in the capital.

The number of active cases is the number of total 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.

COVID-19 CASES IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY

COVID-19 CASES ACROSS THE REGION

INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 35 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.

There is a new COVID-19 outbreak at the Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus. Two staff members tested positive for the virus.

There is also a new COVID-19 outbreak at Global Child Care Services in Orleans.

The COVID-19 outbreak at Mothercraft Ottawa home childcare – 34081 is over.

There are three active community outbreaks: Two are linked to a warehouse and one is linked to a multi-unit dwelling.

The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:

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

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).

Two staff or patient cases of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within a specified hospital unit within a 14-day period where both cases could have reasonably acquired their infection in hospital is considered an outbreak in a public hospital.