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).
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.
Dollarama Inc.’s food aisles may have expanded far beyond sweet treats or piles of gum by the checkout counter in recent years, but its chief executive maintains his company is “not in the grocery business,” even if it’s keeping an eye on the sector.
“It’s just one small part of our store,” Neil Rossy told analysts on a Wednesday call, where he was questioned about the company’s food merchandise and rivals playing in the same space.
“We will keep an eye on all retailers — like all retailers keep an eye on us — to make sure that we’re competitive and we understand what’s out there.”
Over the last decade and as consumers have more recently sought deals, Dollarama’s food merchandise has expanded to include bread and pantry staples like cereal, rice and pasta sold at prices on par or below supermarkets.
However, the competition in the discount segment of the market Dollarama operates in intensified recently when the country’s biggest grocery chain began piloting a new ultra-discount store.
The No Name stores being tested by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in Windsor, St. Catharines and Brockville, Ont., are billed as 20 per cent cheaper than discount retail competitors including No Frills. The grocery giant is able to offer such cost savings by relying on a smaller store footprint, fewer chilled products and a hearty range of No Name merchandise.
Though Rossy brushed off notions that his company is a supermarket challenger, grocers aren’t off his radar.
“All retailers in Canada are realistic about the fact that everyone is everyone’s competition on any given item or category,” he said.
Rossy declined to reveal how much of the chain’s sales would overlap with Loblaw or the food category, arguing the vast variety of items Dollarama sells is its strength rather than its grocery products alone.
“What makes Dollarama Dollarama is a very wide assortment of different departments that somewhat represent the old five-and-dime local convenience store,” he said.
The breadth of Dollarama’s offerings helped carry the company to a second-quarter profit of $285.9 million, up from $245.8 million in the same quarter last year as its sales rose 7.4 per cent.
The retailer said Wednesday the profit amounted to $1.02 per diluted share for the 13-week period ended July 28, up from 86 cents per diluted share a year earlier.
The period the quarter covers includes the start of summer, when Rossy said the weather was “terrible.”
“The weather got slightly better towards the end of the summer and our sales certainly increased, but not enough to make up for the season’s horrible start,” he said.
Sales totalled $1.56 billion for the quarter, up from $1.46 billion in the same quarter last year.
Comparable store sales, a key metric for retailers, increased 4.7 per cent, while the average transaction was down2.2 per cent and traffic was up seven per cent, RBC analyst Irene Nattel pointed out.
She told investors in a note that the numbers reflect “solid demand as cautious consumers focus on core consumables and everyday essentials.”
Analysts have attributed such behaviour to interest rates that have been slow to drop and high prices of key consumer goods, which are weighing on household budgets.
To cope, many Canadians have spent more time seeking deals, trading down to more affordable brands and forgoing small luxuries they would treat themselves to in better economic times.
“When people feel squeezed, they tend to shy away from discretionary, focus on the basics,” Rossy said. “When people are feeling good about their wallet, they tend to be more lax about the basics and more willing to spend on discretionary.”
The current economic situation has drawn in not just the average Canadian looking to save a buck or two, but also wealthier consumers.
“When the entire economy is feeling slightly squeezed, we get more consumers who might not have to or want to shop at a Dollarama generally or who enjoy shopping at a Dollarama but have the luxury of not having to worry about the price in some other store that they happen to be standing in that has those goods,” Rossy said.
“Well, when times are tougher, they’ll consider the extra five minutes to go to the store next door.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
TORONTO – The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has ordered TD Bank Group to pay US$28 million for repeatedly sharing inaccurate, negative information about its customers to consumer reporting companies.
The agency says TD has to pay US$7.76 million in total to tens of thousands of victims of its illegal actions, along with a US$20 million civil penalty.
It says TD shared information that contained systemic errors about credit card and bank deposit accounts to consumer reporting companies, which can include credit reports as well as screening reports for tenants and employees and other background checks.
CFPB director Rohit Chopra says in a statement that TD threatened the consumer reports of customers with fraudulent information then “barely lifted a finger to fix it,” and that regulators will need to “focus major attention” on TD Bank to change its course.
TD says in a statement it self-identified these issues and proactively worked to improve its practices, and that it is committed to delivering on its responsibilities to its customers.
The bank also faces scrutiny in the U.S. over its anti-money laundering program where it expects to pay more than US$3 billion in monetary penalties to resolve.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
