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*
*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.
COVID-19 CASES IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY
0-9 years old: Six new cases (1,043 total cases)
10-19 years-old: Five new case (1,733 total cases)
20-29 years-old: 14 new cases (3,011 total cases)
30-39 years-old: 12 new cases (1,979 total cases)
40-49 years-old: Eight new cases (1,838 total cases)
50-59 years-old: 11 new cases (1,701 total cases)
60-69-years-old: Six new cases (1,033 total cases)
70-79 years-old: Three new cases (631 total cases)
80-89 years-old: Two new cases (691 total cases)
90+ years old: Zero new cases (442 total cases)
Unknown: (3 cases total)
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).
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
