OTTAWA —
Ottawa Public Health is reporting 70 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday, the ninth straight day with less than 100 new cases in the capital.
There is also one new death linked to COVID-19 in Ottawa.
Since the first case of COVID-19 on March 11, there have been 6,296 laboratory-confirmed cases in Ottawa, including 309 deaths
The last time Ottawa Public Health reported a triple-digit increase in COVID-19 cases in Ottawa was Thanksgiving Monday, with 119 new cases.
On Wednesday, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches told reporters there are signs COVID-19 transmission is “slowing down” in Ottawa this month.
Across Ontario, there are 841 new cases of COVID-19, including 335 cases in Toronto and 106 in Peel Region.
ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA
There are 675 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, down from 717 active cases on Wednesday.
A total of 5,201 people have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19.
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 FROM COVID-19 IN OTTAWA
Ottawa Public Health reports 49 people are currently in an Ottawa hospital with COVID-19 related illnesses. That’s up from 48 people on Wednesday.
There are five people in the intensive care unit.
CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY
Here is a breakdown of all known COVID-19 cases in Ottawa by age category:
0-9 years old: Six new cases (392 cases total)
10-19 years-old: 11 new cases (680 cases total)
20-29 years-old: 17 new cases (1,372 cases total)
30-39 years-old: Five new cases (841 cases total)
40-49 years-old: Eight new cases (813 cases total)
50-59 years-old: 10 new cases (738 cases total)
60-69-years-old: Five new cases (501 cases total)
70-79 years-old: Three new case (322 cases total)
80-89 years-old: Five new cases (380 cases total)
90+ years old: One new case (257 cases total)
COVID-19 CASES IN EASTERN ONTARIO
There are 10 new cases in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit region.
Two new cases reported in the Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health region.
Two new cases were reported in the Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit.
Renfrew County and District Health Unit also reported two new cases.
INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS
Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 69 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.
There is a new COVID-19 outbreak at Park Place retirement hoime.
New COVID-19 outbreaks were declared Thursday at All Saints High School and Ecole Elementaire Catholique Montfort.
The COVID-19 outbreak at École élémentaire Catholique Saint-Joseph-d’Orléans is over.
The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:
All Saints High School (NEW)
Andrew Fleck Children’s Services
Children’s Place Civic
Children’s Village of Ottawa Carleton at Navan
École élémentaire Catholique Montfort (NEW)
École élémentaire publique Seraphin Marion
École secondaire Catholique Franco-Cité
Farley Mowat Public School
Gabrielle Roy school
Garderie Tunney’s Daycare
Grandir Ensemble – La Maisonée
Grandir Ensemble – Pierre Elliott-Trudeau
Kanata Montessori
Matreshka Child Care Centre
Service A L’Enfance Aladin, St-Anne
St. Jerome Catholic School
St. Joseph High School
St. Peter High School
The Children’s Place Annex Location
The long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals, and other spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:
Association pour intégration sociale d’Ottawa – 2
Association pour intégration sociale d’Ottawa – 3
Association pour intégration sociale d’Ottawa – 4
Association pour intégration sociale d’Ottawa – 6
Association pour intégration sociale d’Ottawa – 7
Bairn Croft Residential Services
Bairn Croft Residential Services – French Hill Residence
Carlingview Manor
Centre d’accueil Champlain
Centre de soins de longue durée Montfort long-term care home
Christian Horizons 9
Cité Parkway Retirement Residence
Colonel By retirement home
Edinburgh Retirement Home
Emergency Housing West
Extendicare New Orchard Lodge
Forest Hill long-term care home
Garry J. Armstrong
Governor’s Walk
Granite Ridge Care Community
Hillel Lodge
Innovative Community Support Services
Jardin Royal Garden
Laurier Manor
Longfields Manor
Manoir Marochel
New Edinburgh Square Chartwell
Park Place (NEW)
Perley Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre – Gatineau Building
Peter D. Clark
Residence St. Louis
Robertson Home
Rockcliffe Retirement
Royal Ottawa Hospital — Geriatric South
Royal Ottawa Place long-term care home
Sisters of Charity retirement home
St. Patrick’s Home
St. Vincent Hospital 5 North
Starwood
Tamir Foundation
The Ottawa Hospital General Campus 5N
The Ottawa Hospital General Campus 6W
The Ravines retirement home
Villa Marconi
Walk of Grace Residential Services – 1
Walk of Grace Residential Services – 2
Waterford Retirement Community
West End Villa
Westwood Building 1 retirement home
Wildpine Retirement Home
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).
The Canadian government says it will donate up to 200,000 vaccine doses to fight the mpox outbreak in Congo and other African countries.
It says the donated doses of Imvamune will come from Canada’s existing supply and will not affect the country’s preparedness for mpox cases in this country.
Minister of Health Mark Holland says the donation “will help to protect those in the most affected regions of Africa and will help prevent further spread of the virus.”
Dr. Madhukar Pai, Canada research chair in epidemiology and global health, says although the donation is welcome, it is a very small portion of the estimated 10 million vaccine doses needed to control the outbreak.
Vaccine donations from wealthier countries have only recently started arriving in Africa, almost a month after the World Health Organization declared the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern.
A few days after the declaration in August, Global Affairs Canada announced a contribution of $1 million for mpox surveillance, diagnostic tools, research and community awareness in Africa.
On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said mpox is still on the rise and that testing rates are “insufficient” across the continent.
Jason Kindrachuk, Canada research chair in emerging viruses at the University of Manitoba, said donating vaccines, in addition to supporting surveillance and diagnostic tests, is “massively important.”
But Kindrachuk, who has worked on the ground in Congo during the epidemic, also said that the international response to the mpox outbreak is “better late than never (but) better never late.”
“It would have been fantastic for us globally to not be in this position by having provided doses a much, much longer time prior than when we are,” he said, noting that the outbreak of clade I mpox in Congo started in early 2023.
Clade II mpox, endemic in regions of West Africa, came to the world’s attention even earlier — in 2022 — as that strain of virus spread to other countries, including Canada.
Two doses are recommended for mpox vaccination, so the donation may only benefit 100,000 people, Pai said.
Pai questioned whether Canada is contributing enough, as the federal government hasn’t said what percentage of its mpox vaccine stockpile it is donating.
“Small donations are simply not going to help end this crisis. We need to show greater solidarity and support,” he said in an email.
“That is the biggest lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic — our collective safety is tied with that of other nations.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.