Ottawa Public Health reports lowest COVID-19 case count since February

COVID In The Capital: What's Next? Eastern Ontario Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis joins us with the latest on the COVID trends in our region.

OTTAWA — Ottawa Public Health is reporting 39 more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19, the lowest daily case count since late February.

It comes the same day the province reported fewer than 1,000 new cases in a single day for the first time since March.

One more person in Ottawa has died due to COVID-19. Sixty-three resident deaths have been reported in Ottawa in May.

Ottawa Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard shows 27,058 total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Ottawa since the first case was confirmed on March 11, 2020. 570 residents of the city have lost their lives to the pandemic.

Health officials reported 916 new confirmed infections across Ontario on Monday, along with 1,707 newly resolved cases. Another 13 Ontarians have died due to COVID-19. Public Health Ontario reported 50 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa in its daily update. Figures from OPH often differ from those provided by Public Health Ontario because the two heath agencies pull data for their respective daily reports at different times of the day.

The 916 new cases reported province-wide is the lowest figure since mid-February. The province says 18,226 tests were completed in the previous day; the positivity rate stands at 4.3 per cent.

Monday's update from Ottawa Public Health saw the city's weekly per capita incidence rate drop below 40 for the first time since mid-March, when the province moved Ottawa to what was then known as the "Red Control" restriction level. Ottawa's testing positivity rate has dropped below five per cent, and active cases are now below 700.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

Ottawa entered Ontario's COVID-19 stay-at-home order at 12:01 a.m. April 8.

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.

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

Ottawa Public Health updates vaccine numbers on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

As of May 31:

As of Monday, 62 per cent Ottawa residents 18 and older had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

*Total doses received does not include AstraZeneca doses shipped to pharmacies and primary care clinics.

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

Ottawa Public Health reported 36 people in Ottawa hospitals with COVID-19 related illnesses on Monday, up from 33.

There are 10 people in intensive care units.

Hospitalizations (and ICU admissions) by age category:

These data are based on figures from Ottawa Public Health's COVID-19 dashboard, which refer to residents of Ottawa and do not include patient transfers from other regions.

ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA

The number of people with known active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa is now below 700.

There are 676 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Monday, down from 709 active cases on Sunday.

OPH reported that 71 more people recovered after testing positive for COVID-19. The total number of resolved cases of coronavirus in Ottawa is now 25,812.

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.

VARIANTS OF CONCERN

Ottawa Public Health data*:

*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 CASES IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY

COVID-19 TESTING IN OTTAWA

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says 463 swabs were processed at local assessment centres on Sunday and labs performed 1,218 tests.

The average turnaround from the time the swab is taken at a testing site to the result is 15 hours.

Public Health Ontario says 18,226 COVID-19 tests were performed across Ontario on Sunday.

CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION

INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS

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

The active community outbreaks are: 

The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:

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

As of April 7, two cases of COVID-19 in a resident or staff member of a long-term care home, retirement home with an with an epidemiological link, within a 14-day period, where at least one case could have reasonably acquired their infection in the facility is considered an outbreak in a long-term care home or retirement home. One laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 in a staff member or resident of other institutions such as shelters, group homes, is considered an outbreak. In childcare settings, two children or staff or household member cases of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within a 14-day period where at least one case could have reasonably acquired their infection in the childcare establishment is considered an outbreak in a childcare establishment.

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 or more lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in patients and/or staff in a hospital setting with an epidemiological link, within a 14-day period, where at least one case could have reasonably acquired their infection in the hospital is considered an outbreak in a public hospital.