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Another jump in new COVID-19 cases in Ottawa but hospitalizations are down – CTV Edmonton
OTTAWA —
Ottawa Public Health says 62 more people in Ottawa have tested positive for COVID-19, another jump compared to previous days.
OPH reported 48 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 16 on Tuesday.
OPH said Thursday that there were 62 new positive test results in the city, lower than the 77 reported by Public Health Ontario, and that no new deaths were reported.
There have been 9,510 total lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and 390 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
The new cases in Ottawa are among a record 2,447 new infections across Ontario. Forty-nine new deaths were also reported provincewide.
There are 646 new cases in Toronto, 502 in Peel, 263 in York Region and 173 in Windsor-Essex County, some of the province’s lockdown zones.
A provincewide shutdown will move Ottawa to lockdown status at 12:01 a.m. Dec. 26.
OPH also said there are 15 COVID-19 patients in the city’s hospitals, with none in intensive care. There were 18 people in hospitals on Wednesday.
Active cases are up to 349, from 329 on Wednesday. OPH says 8,771 people in Ottawa have had their COVID-19 cases resolve. Forty-two new recoveries were reported on Thursday.
OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard will not be updating on Dec. 25 or Jan. 1.
OTTAWA COVID-19 STATUS: ORANGE-RESTRICT
Ottawa remains in the “Orange-Restrict” level under the provincial reopening framework. Ottawa moved into the restriction level on Nov. 7.
A provincewide lockdown will move Ottawa into lockdown status as of 12:01 a.m. Dec. 26.
The “Orange-Restrict” level is for areas with a weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 people of between 25 and 39.9, a positivity rate between 1.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent and a reproduction number of 1 to 1.1.
Here is where Ottawa stands on those metrics currently, according to Ottawa Public Health:
- COVID-19 cases per 100,000 (previous seven days): 29.2
- Positivity rate in Ottawa: 1.2 per cent (Dec. 14 to 20)
- Reproduction Number: 0.97 (seven day average as of Dec. 23)
The “Yellow-Protect” level requires a weekly rate of new cases per 100,000 people of between 10 and 24.9, a positivity rate between 0.5 per cent and 1.2 per cent and a reproduction number of “approximately 1”, according to the province.
TESTING
Ontario health officials said 64,592 COVID-19 tests were performed across Ontario on Wednesday and 75,250 tests remain under investigation.
The Ottawa COVID-19 Testing Taskforce says 1,925 swabs were taken at assessment centres on Wednesday and local labs performed 5,919 tests.
There are 3,475 tests still in progress as of Dec. 24. The positivity rate for Ottawa during the week of Dec. 14 to 20 was 1.2 per cent.
The average turnaround from the time the swab is taken at a testing site to the result is 40 hours.
CASES OF COVID-19 AROUND THE REGION
Public Health Ontario is reporting the following in health units around eastern Ontario:
- Eastern Ontario Health Unit: 30 new cases
- Hastings Prince Edward Public Health: 3 new cases
- Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Public Health: 7 new cases
- Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: 5 new cases
- Renfrew County and District Health Unit: 1 new case
The Quebec government reported nine new cases in the Outaouais region, which includes Gatineau.
INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS
Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 21 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.
A new outbreak was declared at the childcare centre attached to Terre-des-Jeunes school, which is also experiencing an outbreak.
There are four active community outbreaks, all linked to unidentified workplaces. OPH does not name which workplaces have outbreaks or how many cases are linked to each workplace outbreak.
To date, there have been 42 workplace outbreaks in Ottawa (4 active, 38 closed) accounting for 231 cases of COVID-19 and one death.
The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:
- École élémentaire catholique Terre-des-Jeunes
- Grandir Ensemble child care at l’École Terre-des-Jeunes (NEW)
The long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals, and other spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:
- Association Intégration Sociale d’Ottawa – 21034
- Besserer Place
- Bridlewood Trails Retirement Home
- Cité Parkway
- Courtyards on Eagleson
- Extendicare Medex
- Extendicare New Orchard Lodge
- Extendicare Starwood
- Extendicare West End Villa
- Group home – 27332
- Madonna Care Community
- Maison Accueil-Sagesse
- Manotick Place Retirement Home
- Maycourt Hospice
- Montfort Hospital – 3C, 4C
- Parkway House
- Rudy Shenkman Hospice
- Shelter – 27273
- Village at the Glebe Retirement Residence
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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Ontario reports 172 new COVID-19 cases and 2 more deaths; 7-day average remains unchanged – CP24 Toronto's Breaking News
Ontario reported fewer than 200 new COVID-19 cases and two more deaths on Sunday, as the seven-day rolling average remains unchanged from yesterday.
Provincial health officials logged 172 new infections today, up from 170 on Saturday but down from 177 a week ago.
The province reported 192 cases on Friday, 185 on Thursday and 135 on Wednesday.
The seven-day rolling average now stands at 159, unchanged from Saturday but up slightly from a week ago when it was 153.
The province’s virus-related death toll is 9,313.
Another 144 people recovered from the virus yesterday, resulting in 1,450 active cases across the province.
Ontario labs processed 13,902 tests in the past 24 hours, down from 19,131 the previous day.
The drop in testing contributed to a slight day-over-day rise in the positivity rate to 1.1. per cent, compared to 0.8 per cent on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Health.
Another 152 lab-confirmed cases of variants of concern were identified in Ontario in the past 24 hours.
In the Greater Toronto Area, 48 cases of COVID-19 were logged in Toronto, 23 in Peel Region, nine in York Region, 11 in Durham and seven in Halton.
There are currently 127 people in intensive care units across the province due to the virus and 81 of those patients are breathing with the help of a ventilator.
To date, there have been more 549,300 lab-confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 538,565 recoveries since January 2020.
Over 8.5 million people are fully vaccinated against the virus after receiving two doses of approved vaccines.
More than 18.9 million doses of vaccine have been administered in Ontario since mid-December, with 103,812 shots into arms yesterday alone.
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times.
European Medicines Agency gives all clear for vaccine to be used in children aged between 12 and 17.
The European Union’s medicines regulator has recommended authorising Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine for use in children aged between 12 and 17, marking the first time the shot has been approved for people under 18.
In a decision on Friday, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said research in more than 3,700 children of 12 to 17 years of age showed that the shot produced a comparable antibody response to that seen in 18- to 25-year-olds.
Use of the vaccine, Spikevax, will be the same in adolescents as in people over 18, the EMA said.
Formal approval by the European Commission – the EU’s executive arm – is needed to start rolling out the vaccine for teenagers. The body typically follows EMA recommendations.
Until now, the vaccine made by Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech has been the only option for use in children as young as 12 in North America and the EU.
Vaccinating children has been considered important for reaching herd immunity and in light of the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Most children with COVID-19 develop only mild symptoms or none. Yet children remain at risk of becoming seriously ill and can spread the virus.
‘Benefits outweigh the risks’
Moderna said in May that its vaccine was found to be safe and effective in teenagers. Hundreds of millions of doses of the shot have already have been administered to adults.
The EMA said common side effects in teenagers after vaccination with Spikevax were similar to those seen in older people.
But due to a smaller study size, the trial could not detect new uncommon side effects or estimate the risk of known ones such as myocarditis and pericarditis.
“The overall safety profile of Spikevax determined in adults was confirmed in the adolescent study; the CHMP (Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use) therefore considered that the benefits of Spikevax in children aged 12 to 17 outweigh the risks,” the EMA said.
Heart inflammation such as myocarditis and pericarditis has been listed by the EMA as a possible but rare side effect from use of mRNA vaccines such as Moderna’s and Pfizer’s in adults.
Spikevax is already being used in the EU for people over 18, and in the United States and Canada.
Moderna has also sought authorisation in the US and Canada for its use in adolescents.
But with global vaccine supplies still tight, much of the world still is struggling to immunise adults, let alone children.
Agencies including the World Health Organization have urged rich countries to donate their doses to the developing world – where fewer than 2 percent of people have been vaccinated – rather than moving on to inoculate their less vulnerable populations.
TORONTO —
Ontario is reporting a slight decrease in new COVID-19 cases on Saturday from the previous day.
Officials marked 170 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday, with three additional deaths.
The province reported 192 new cases on Friday and 185 on Thursday.
The seven-day rolling average now stands at 159, compared to 151 a week ago.
Provincial labs processed more than 19,131 test specimens, generating a positivity rate of at least 0.8 per cent, according to the Ministry of Health.
The province’s COVID-19-related death toll stands at 9,311.
Another 150 people recovered from the disease yesterday, resulting in 1,424 active cases across the province.
Right now, there are 125 people in hospital with COVID-19 and 132 patients being treated in intensive care, according to the Ministry of Health.
The hospitalization data presented by the province has been skewed over the past several weeks, which may be explained by a delay in patient reporting.
Where are the new cases?
Officials are reporting 44 new cases in Toronto, 26 in Peel Region, 17 in Hamilton, 15 in the Region of Waterloo and 13 in Grey Bruce.
Update on COVID-19 variants of concern
The Ministry of Health is reporting 107 new cases of the Alpha variant Saturday, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 145,255.
Officials reported 12 new cases of Delta variant, B.1.617.2 and the case total is now 3,897.
Four cases of the Beta variant, B.1.351 were also recorded. So far, there have been a total of 1,489 cases of the Beta variant reported in Ontario.
As for the Gamma variant, P.1, 10 new cases were recorded today. The total number of Gamma variants recorded in Ontario is now 5,140.
Vaccination update
The province said it administered 124,261 doses of COVID-19 vaccines Friday.
Throughout Ontario’s seven-month vaccination campaign, over 18.8 million needles have gone into arms.
As of Saturday, 8,480,761 people have received both doses and are considered to be fully vaccinated.
Backstory:
The numbers used in this story are found in the Ontario Ministry of Health’s COVID-19 Daily Epidemiologic Summary. The number of cases for any city or region may differ slightly from what is reported by the province, because local units report figures at different times.
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