Active COVID-19 cases rise on Wednesday as Ottawa Public Health adds 67 new positive tests - CTV News Ottawa

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Active COVID-19 cases rise on Wednesday as Ottawa Public Health adds 67 new positive tests – CTV News Ottawa

Published

3 years ago

February 17, 2021

Harry Miller

OTTAWA —
Ottawa Public Health says 67 more people in the city have tested positive for COVID-19.

OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard now shows 14,105 total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

No new deaths were reported on Wednesday. The death toll from the pandemic stands at 434 residents.

The new figures Wednesday come as Ontario reports its lowest daily case count since October. Health officials added 847 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 10 new deaths. The province reported 53 cases in Ottawa on Wednesday.

However, officials note that fluctuating numbers due to an ongoing data issue at Toronto Public Health, may affect case totals.

The new cases in Ottawa follow reports from Ottawa Public Health of 31 new cases on Tuesday and 59 cases on Monday. Figures from Ottawa Public Health and from the province often differ due to different data collection times.

Ottawa Public Health says there have been seven total cases of the B.1.1.7 COVID-19 variant (first identified in the UK) and one case of the B.1.351 variant (first identified in South Africa).

The number of known active cases in Ottawa rose slightly on Wednesday, and key weekly averages remain firmly within the “Orange-Restrict” level.

OTTAWA’S COVID-19 KEY STATISTICS

Ottawa is in “Orange-Restrict” status under Ontario’s COVID-19 framework.

Ottawa Public Health data:

COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 31.6 (up from 29.3 cases on Tuesday and 28.5 cases on Monday)
Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.6 per cent (Feb. 8-14)
Reproduction number: 1.06 (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.

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.

VACCINES IN OTTAWA

As of Feb. 17

Vaccine doses administered in Ottawa (first and second shots): 40,930*
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine doses received: 35,100
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine doses received: 4,000

*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 in Ottawa with known active cases of COVID-19 rose on Wednesday to 447 after dropping to 435 on Tuesday.

The active case count has been slowly rising since Feb. 10, when Ottawa Public Health reported at 2021 low of 402 cases.

OPH added 55 newly resolved cases to its dashboard on Wednesday, bringing the city’s total number of resolved cases to 13,224.

HOSPITALIZATIONS IN OTTAWA

There are 18 people in Ottawa hospitals with COVID-19 complications and three are in intensive care.

Of the people in hospital, one is under the age of 10, two are in their 40s (one is in the ICU), two are in their 50s, three are in their 60s, four are in their 70s (one is in the ICU), and six are in their 80s (one is in the ICU).

COVID-19 TESTING

Ontario health officials say 33,977 COVID-19 tests were performed provincewide on Tuesday and 33,730 tests remain under investigation.

The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce said on Tuesday that 1,662 swabs were taken at local assessment centres on Monday and labs performed 2,815 COVID-19 tests.

The average positivity rate for the week of Feb. 8 to 14 was 1.6 per cent.

The average turnaround from the time the swab is taken at a testing site to the result is 18 hours.

CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION

Eastern Ontario Health Unit: Three new cases
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: One new case
Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: One new case
Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: Three new cases
Renfrew County and District Health Unit: Zero new cases
CISSS de l’Outaouais (Gatineau and western Quebec): 14 new cases

INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS

Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 24 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.

There are seven active community outbreaks, two are linked to retail workplaces, two are linked to health workplaces, one is linked to a corporate/office setting, one is linked to a distribution centre, and one is linked to a warehouse.

The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:

Bishop Hamilton Montessori School
Centre educatif La Clementine (École Marie-Curie)
Charles H. Hulse Public School
CityView – Home Child Care – 32814
CityView – Home Child Care – 32912
Playtime Daycare Centre – Licensed Childcare

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

Carlingwood Retirement
Extendicare Starwood
Garry J. Armstrong long-term care home
Group Home – 32432
Group Home – 32782
Maison Acceuil Sagesse
Manoir Marochel
Montfort Long-term Care Centre
Peter D. Clark (NEW)
Residence St. Louis
Shelter – 28778
Shelter – 29677
Shelter – 29770
Shelter – 29860
Shelter – 32620
Supported Independent Living – 32891
The Edinburgh 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).

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Tesla to lay off 10% of its workforce as sales fall – CBC News

Published

14 hours ago

April 15, 2024

Harry Miller

Tesla will lay off more than 10 per cent of its global workforce, an internal memo seen by Reuters on Monday shows, as it grapples with falling sales and an intensifying price war for electric vehicles.

The world’s largest automaker by market value had 140,473 employees globally as of December 2023, its latest annual report shows. The memo did not say how many jobs would be affected.

Some staff in California and Texas have already been notified of layoffs, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the subject.

“As we prepare the company for our next phase of growth, it is extremely important to look at every aspect of the company for cost reductions and increasing productivity,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said in the memo.

“As part of this effort, we have done a thorough review of the organization and made the difficult decision to reduce our headcount by more than 10 per cent globally,” it said.

Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Stock has fallen about 31 per cent so far this year

Its shares were down 1.3 per cent in premarket trading.

The stock has fallen about 31 per cent so far this year, underperforming legacy automakers such as Toyota Motor and General Motors, whose shares have rallied 45 per cent and 20 per cent respectively thanks to a slow consumer transition away from traditional internal combustion engine vehicles.

LISTEN | Inside Tesla’s woes:

Front Burner21:54Tesla woes and Canada’s big EV bet

Tesla is having its worst year since the pandemic. The company is selling fewer cars, and its stock is plummeting. And it’s not just Tesla. We’re seeing a cool down in North America’s EV industry as a whole. Why is this happening? And as Canada pours billions of dollars into the industry, will that bet pay off? Senior CBC business reporter Peter Armstrong explains.

Energy giant BP has also cut over a tenth of the workforce in its EV charging business after a bet on rapid growth in commercial EV fleets didn’t pay off, Reuters reported on Monday, underscoring the broader impact of slowing EV demand.

“Tesla is maturing as a company and isn’t the growth story that it used to be,” said Craig Irwin, senior research analyst at Roth Capital.

“Layoffs imply management expects weak demand to persist.”

Layoffs could be a cost trim ahead of new models

Still, Pedro Pacheco, vice-president of research and automotive at Gartner, said the cuts could simply be a sign of the company trimming costs ahead of releasing new models, as sales slow down from the strong growth propelled by the launch of the Model Y and Model 3.

Tesla reported this month that its global vehicle deliveries in the first quarter fell for the first time in nearly four years, as price cuts failed to stir demand.

The EV maker has been slow to refresh its aging models as high interest rates have sapped consumer appetite for big-ticket items, while rivals in China, the world’s largest auto market, are rolling out cheaper models.

Reuters reported this month that Tesla had cancelled a long-promised inexpensive car that investors have been counting on to drive mass market growth. Musk denied the report, but did not identify any specific inaccuracies.

The company is looking to shore up its margins, which have been dented by repeated price cuts, especially in China where it faces stiff competition from local rivals including market leader BYD, which briefly overtook the U.S. company as the world’s largest EV maker in the fourth quarter, and new entrant Xiaomi.

Tesla recorded a gross profit margin of 17.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, the lowest in more than four years.

Tesla had previously laid off four per cent of its workforce in New York in February last year as part of a performance review cycle and before a union campaign was to be launched by its employees.

Tech publication Electrek first reported the latest job cuts.

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Toronto house prices to top Vancouver, says forecast

Published

16 hours ago

April 15, 2024

Harry Miller

Toronto, Montreal to see biggest gains, beating Vancouver and Calgary, predicts Royal LePage

Toronto house prices are expected to rise 10 per cent in the fourth quarter, the greater price appreciation of all major markets in the country. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk/Toronto Sun/Postmedia Network

Toronto will steal Vancouver’s title as Canada’s most expensive housing market by the end of the year, predicts a new forecast by Royal LePage.

After stronger-than-expected sales and price gains in the first quarter of this year, the real estate company has bumped up its forecast for home prices in markets across the country.

According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey, which draws data from 63 of Canada’s largest housing markets, the aggregate price of a home nationally rose 4.3 per cent year over year in the first quarter of 2024 to $812,100.

“Consistent with our previous forecast, the market did reach a critical tipping point in the first quarter of 2024, when home prices bottomed out and began to appreciate again,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage.

“Clearly, more and more buyers are motivated by the need to get ahead of rising home prices, rather than adopting the strategy of waiting for mortgage rates to fall.”

Royal LePage said within the first three months of the year the Canadian housing market saw solid price appreciation and sales activity, a trend it only expects to accelerate when the Bank of Canada makes its first interest rate cut later this year.

Their updated forecast predicts that the aggregate national home price will rise by 9 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024, year over year.

But some regions will fare better than others.

Prices in the Greater Toronto Area are expected to rise 10 per cent in the fourth quarter, the greater appreciation of all major markets in the country, after climbing 5.2 per cent in the first quarter to $1,177,700.

“At the end of 2023, we forecast modest price gains in the first half of this year and stronger appreciation in the third quarter, following one or more expected rate cuts. What we’ve seen so far is a boost in sales volumes and prices even greater than predicted,” Karen Yolevski, chief operating officer of Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd, said of the Toronto market.

“Since the start of the year, average days on market have been steadily decreasing and we’re starting to see an uptick in new listings, which are desperately needed.”

Montreal is expected to be another high flyer, with prices forecast to rise 8.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, the second highest appreciation in Canada.

Activity in the Greater Vancouver Area, however, has been more muted, with prices rising 3.4 per cent in the first quarter to $1,238,200, says Royal LePage.

“Heading into spring, the Vancouver market has been steadily gaining momentum, though not at the feverish pace that other markets across Canada have seen as of late,” said Randy Ryalls, general manager of Royal LePage Sterling Realty.

“The gentle upswing in activity we’ve experienced in the first few months of the year is expected to continue throughout the months ahead, likely resulting in a moderate increase to home prices,” he said.

Royal LePage forecasts that Vancouver home prices will rise 5.5 per cent in the fourth quarter.

“While Vancouver remains the nation’s most expensive market today, Royal LePage predicts that the aggregate price of a home in the GTA will surpass Greater Vancouver in the second half of 2024,” said the report.

The gains of Toronto and Montreal are expected to even outpace Calgary, which Royal LePage had previously expected to record the biggest gains this year.

The Alberta city, which bucked the trend of declining prices last year, saw its aggregate home price rise 9.7 per cent to $676,400 in the first quarter, the biggest appreciation in the country.

“While activity levels remain strong and prices continue to rise in Alberta, our research indicates that buyer demand, relative to available inventory, is strongest in the two largest urban centres in the country,” said Soper. “We now expect Toronto and Montreal to log the highest home price appreciation this year.”

Calgary home prices are expected to increase 8 per cent in the fourth quarter.

Almost 90 per cent of regions tracked by Royal LePage posted higher prices at the beginning of the year, but housing markets have still not fully recovered from the post-pandemic correction, the report says.

The aggregate price of a home in Canada is still 5.2 per cent below the peak reached in the first quarter of 2022. That said, prices remain far above pre-pandemic levels.

In the first quarter of this year, home prices were almost 30 per cent above what they were in 2019, says the report.

Financial Post

Good news on the rental front, sort of. The dizzyingly annual ascent of rent prices in Canada slowed in March, with the average rent decreasing 0.6 per cent from the month before, says Urbanation’s monthly report.

The decline was partly down to seasonal forces but also because renters are shifting out of the really expensive cities like Vancouver and Toronto, said Rentals.ca.

Rents averaged $2,181 in March, up 8.8 per cent from a year ago — a cooler pace than the 10.5 per cent growth recorded in February.

Average rents in Canada are up 21 per cent from March 2020, the month the global COVID-19 pandemic began.

The IMF and World Bank spring meetings kick off in Washington, D.C. where finance ministers, central bankers and policymakers meet to discuss the global economy.
Gildan Activewear Inc. chief executive Vince Tyra will present an investor update today, marking his first 90 days in the job. The presentation comes as activist investor Browning West seeks to replace a majority of directors on the company’s board in a move to reinstate founder Glenn Chamandy as chief executive of the clothing company.
Today’s Data: Canada housing starts for March, manufacturing sales, U.S. retail sales, NAHB housing market index
Earnings: EQB Inc., M&T Bank Corp, Charles Schwab Corp, Goldman Sachs Group Inc

Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you wondering how to make ends meet? Drop us a line at aholloway@postmedia.com with your contact info and the general gist of your problem and we’ll try to find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we’ll keep your name out of it, of course). If you have a simpler question, the crack team at FP Answers led by Julie Cazzin or one of our columnists can give it a shot.

McLister on Mortgages

Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister’s Financial Post column can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won’t want to miss. Read them here

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Ontario to add more than 300 weekly GO Transit trips by the end of the month

Published

18 hours ago

April 15, 2024

Harry Miller

Ontario will introduce more than 300 new weekly GO Transit trips by the end of the month, something Metrolinx describes as “the single biggest enhancement of GO rail service since 2013.”

The changes will include 15-minute weekend service frequency on parts of the Lakeshore West and Lakeshore East lines.

It will also mean additional trains on the Kitchener, Stouffville, and Milton lines starting April 28.

Premier Doug Ford made the announcement in Milton, Ont. alongside Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria.

“This means more options and greater convenience on Milton, Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, Kitchener, Stouffville and the UP Express Lane lines,” the premier told reporters.

“Today’s announcement represents a 15 per cent increase in GO service.”

Here’s what is changing:

Lakeshore West: Service will increase to 15-minute frequency on weekend afternoons and evenings between Oakville GO and Union Station
Lakeshore East: Service will increase to 15-minute frequency on weekend afternoons and evenings between Durham College Oshawa GO and Union Station.
Kitchener: There will be 30-minute weekday service in the midday and evenings between Bramalea GO and Union Station. Some weekend trips will be increased to 10 cars.
Stouffville: Evening train service seven days a week
Milton: One additional morning rush hour trip to and from Milton to Union Station
UP Express: Every second train (every 30 minutes) will be non-stop between Union Station and Pearson International Airport seven days a week.

The government also said that some trips along Lakeshore West, Lakeshore East, Milton, Kitchener, Barrie and Stouffville will be adjusted to depart up to nine minutes earlier or later to “better align with actual travel times, and new and connecting services.”

In a statement, CEO of Metrolinx Phil Verster called the additional trips “the single biggest enhancement of GO rail service since 2013,” adding that it will bring the total number of weekly rail trips to 2,307.

“This will give our customers more flexibility and makes it easier to choose transit first,” he said.

Announcement unrelated to Milton by-election, premier says

Ford said the timing of Monday’s announcement was unrelated to a by-election taking place in Milton on May 2, despite a suggestion from the Ontario Liberal Party.

The Liberal candidate for the riding said in a statement that all-way, all-day GO train service for Milton was something that both he and Leader Bonnie Crombie has fought for.

“Don’t be surprised by today’s abrupt change of heart, Doug is only doing it for himself,” Galen Naidoo Harris, Ontario Liberal candidate for Milton, said.

“This riding has had a Conservative MPP since 2018 and it’s only now, when this seat is at risk, that Doug Ford has managed to find Milton on the map.”

Ford said that his government is making announcements “every single day in every region of this province.”

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