Uptick in Ottawa COVID-19 hospitalizations as wastewater signal reaches new high

Dr Etches: Keep wearing masks indoors Concerned by high infection rates, top doctors urge everyone to get vaccines, limit close contacts and keep the masks on indoors.

Ottawa's COVID-19 wastewater viral signal has hit another new high amid warnings from public health officials that spread of the virus is increasing.

The daily and seven-day rolling mean viral signals both surged to new records in the latest data. It's the eighth straight day the daily signal has set a record.

Hospitalizations also saw an uptick. Ottawa Public Health reported 23 people in hospital with an active COVID-19 infection on Thursday, up from 19 on Wednesday. There are zero people in intensive care.

Medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches told CTV News Ottawa on Thursday that a possible reintroduction of a mask mandate in Ottawa is "something that I'm thinking about every day and talking with the province about."

She also encouraged employers to do their part by encouraging employees to wear masks indoors, and encouraged people to limit their contacts.

OPH hospitalization figures only represent Ottawa residents who are in hospital because of an active case of COVID-19. Local hospitals report higher figures, which include patients who were admitted for reasons other than COVID-19 but have tested positive and patients who are not from Ottawa.

Here is a look at how many COVID-19 patients are in each hospital:

OPH data also show 97 per cent of acute care beds in Ottawa’s hospitals were occupied as of April 4, along with 75 per cent of ICU beds. These data include all patients in the system, not only COVID-19 patients.

OPH reported 234 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the city on Thursday. Daily case counts are an underrepresentation of the true level of COVID-19 in the community because PCR testing in Ontario remains restricted to certain high-risk populations.

No new COVID-19 deaths were reported in the capital on Thursday. To date, 765 residents of Ottawa have died after contracting COVID-19.

Provincewide, officials reported 1,126 people in hospital and 16 new COVID-19 deaths.

OTTAWA'S KEY COVID-19 STATISTICS

COVID-19 VACCINES IN OTTAWA

These figures are updated every Monday.

*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

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:

OPH no longer reports outbreaks in schools and childcare settings nor community outbreaks, such as those linked to local businesses, religious institutions, or sports and recreation activities.

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