OTTAWA —
Ottawa Public Health says 73 more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19 and two more people have died.
There were 1,489 new cases reported across Ontario. The province also reported 22 new deaths provincewide and 1,937 newly resolved cases of COVID-19. The province reported 57 new cases in Ottawa. Case counts from the province and from Ottawa Public Health differ due to different data collection times.
Ottawa had been seeing a downward trend in COVID-19 cases in the past two weeks, with rolling averages dropping. However, in Sunday’s update some rolling averages increased slightly.
OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard shows that there have been 13,670 total laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa since the pandemic began and 424 residents have died.
The weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 population, which fell below 30 on Saturday, ticked back up to 32 on Sunday and the estimated reproduction number is slightly above 1, suggesting viral spread is increasing.
The number of known active cases also increased on Sunday, but remains below 500.
OTTAWA’S COVID-19 KEY STATISTICS
Ottawa Public Health moved Ottawa into its red zone in early January.
A provincial stay-at-home order has been in effect since Jan. 14, 2021.
Ottawa Public Health data:
COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 32.7 (up from 29.6 cases on Saturday, 30.5 cases on Friday and 31.8 cases on Thursday)
Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.6 per cent (Jan. 29 to Feb. 4)
Reproduction number: 1.03 (seven day average)
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.
VACCINES
As of Feb. 5
Vaccine doses administered in Ottawa (first and second shots): 28,567*
Vaccine doses delivered to Ottawa: 30,225
*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.”
ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA
The number of people with known active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa increased to 470 on Sunday from 450 on Saturday. It had been dropping steadily since Jan. 16, when it peaked at nearly 1,300 cases.
OPH reported 51 newly resolved cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, for a total of 12,776.
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 IN OTTAWA
There are 23 people in local hospitals with COVID-19, down from 26 on Saturday. Six people remain in intensive care.
Of the people in hospital, one is in their 40s (this person is in the ICU), four are in their 50s, four are in their 60s (three are in the ICU), three are in their 70s (one is in the ICU), seven are in their 80s (one is in the ICU), and four are 90 or older.
COVID-19 TESTING
Ontario health officials say 51,658 COVID-19 tests were completed across the province on Saturday and 16,539 tests remain under investigation.
The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce said Friday that 1,029 swabs were taken at local assessment centres on Thursday and labs performed 6,695 tests. The next update for local testing figures will be on Monday, Feb. 8.
Ottawa’s testing positivity rate for the week of Jan. 29 to Feb. 4 was 1.6 per cent.
CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY
0-9 years old: Zero new cases (992 total cases)
10-19 years-old: Three new cases (1,687 total cases)
20-29 years-old: 16 new cases (2,921 total cases)
30-39 years-old: 15 new cases (1,904 total cases)
40-49 years-old: 14 new cases (1,788 total cases)
50-59 years-old: 15 new cases (1,648 total cases)
60-69-years-old: Eight new cases (1,001 total cases)
70-79 years-old: Zero new cases (610 total cases)
80-89 years-old: Two new cases (677 total cases)
90+ years old: Zero new cases (439 total cases)
The ages of three people with COVID-19 are unknown.
CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION
Eastern Ontario Health Unit: Two new cases
Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health: One new case
Leeds, Grenville & Lanark Public Health: One new case
Renfrew County and District Health Unit: Two new cases
CISSS de l’Outaouais (Gatineau and western Quebec): 18 new cases
INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS
Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 25 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.
Three new outbreaks were declared on Sunday, at the Montfort Long-term Care Centre, the Edingburgh Retirement Residence, and a shelter.
An outbreak at an Andrew Fleck home daycare location has ended.
There are two active community outbreaks, linked to a health workplace and a warehouse.
The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:
Bishop Hamilton Montessori School
Centre educatif La Clementine (École Marie-Curie)
Cornerstone Children’s Centre
Greely Elementary School
Playtime Daycare Centre – Licensed Childcare
The long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals, and other spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:
Garden Terrace
Garry J. Armstrong long-term care home
Group Home – 29052
Group Home – 32432
Heritage Retirement
Manoir Marochel
Montfort Long-term Care Centre (NEW)
Oakpark Retirement Community
Residence St. Louis
Richmond Care Home
Shelter – 28778
Shelter – 29677
Shelter – 29770
Shelter – 29860
Shelter – 32296
Shelter – 32620 (NEW)
St. Patrick’s Home
The Edinburgh Retirement Residence (NEW)
Valley Stream Retirement Residence
Villa Marconi
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).
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
MONTREAL – Travel company Transat AT Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter compared with a profit a year earlier as its revenue edged lower.
The parent company of Air Transat says it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31.
The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue in what was the company’s third quarter totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
Transat chief executive Annick Guérard says demand for leisure travel remains healthy, as evidenced by higher traffic, but consumers are increasingly price conscious given the current economic uncertainty.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
