OTTAWA —
Ottawa Public Health is reporting 80 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday, the largest one-day increase in new cases in more than a week.
One new death linked to the virus was also reported.
Since the first case of COVID-19 in Ottawa on March 11, 2020, there have been 14,950 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, including 442 deaths.
The 80 new cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday is the largest one-day spike in cases since Feb. 21, when 80 new cases were also reported.
On Wednesday, medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches warned Ottawa’s COVID-19 rates were inching closer to the “red-control” threshold, which would impose new restrictions on social gatherings, restaurants, bars and gyms.
Ottawa’s COVID-19 rate is at 38.7 cases per 100,000 people, while the positivity rate is at 2.1 per cent. The threshold to move into the red zone is a weekly incidence rate of 40 cases per 100,000 and a positivity rate of 2.5 per cent.
Across Ontario, there are 994 laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Officials reported 298 cases in Toronto, 171 in Peel Region and 64 in York Region.
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): 38.7
Positivity rate in Ottawa: 2.1 per cent (Feb. 24-March 2)
Reproduction number: 1.04 (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 March 4:
Vaccine doses administered in Ottawa (first and second shots): 54,345*
COVID-19 doses received (Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna): 61,820
*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.”
Appointments for vaccines for residents 80 and older, or adult recipients of chronic home care, opened in Ottawa Monday for select neighbourhoods. Click here to learn more.
ACTIVE CASES OF COVID-19 IN OTTAWA
The number of people with known active cases of COVID-19 is back above 500. There are 517 active cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa, up from 497 cases on Wednesday.
Fifty-nine more people have recovered after testing positive for COVID-19. Ottawa Public Health reports 13,991 resolved cases of COVID-19 in the capital.
The number of active cases is the number of total 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 currently 27 people in Ottawa hospitals with COVID-19 complications, including four in the intensive care unit.
Of the people in hospital, three are in their 40s (one is in the ICU), three are in their 50s, six are in their 60s (one is in the ICU), two are in their 70s, eight are in their 80s (two are in the ICU), and five are 90 or older.
COVID-19 CASES IN OTTAWA BY AGE CATEGORY
0-9 years old: Two new cases (1,114 total cases)
10-19 years-old: Nine new cases (1,862 total cases)
20-29 years-old: 20 new cases (3,242 total cases)
30-39 years-old: 14 new cases (2,094 total cases)
40-49 years-old: 11 new cases (1,927 total cases)
50-59 years-old: 10 new cases (1,800 total cases)
60-69-years-old: Seven new cases (1,087 total cases)
70-79 years-old: Five new cases (656 total cases)
80-89 years-old: Zero new cases (705 total cases)
90+ years old: One new case (459 total cases)
Unknown: One new cases (4 cases total)
COVID-19 TESTING IN OTTAWA
Ottawa’s COVID-19 Testing Taskforce reported 1,741 swabs were processed at assessment centres in Ottawa on March 2.
A total of 4,698 lab tests were performed in Ottawa on Tuesday.
The average turnaround from the time the swab is taken at a testing site in Ottawa to the result is 25 hours.
COVID-19 CASES ACROSS THE REGION
Eastern Ontario Health Unit: Nine cases
Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health: Seven cases
Leeds, Grenville & Lanark District Health Unit: 10 cases
Renfrew County and District Health Unit: Two cases
INSTITUTIONAL OUTBREAKS
Ottawa Public Health is reporting COVID-19 outbreaks at 30 institutions in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, retirement homes, daycares, hospitals and schools.
There are new COVID-19 outbreaks at Chartwell Duke of Devonshire and Maycourt Hospice. A staff member tested positive for the virus at both facilities.
There are four active community outbreaks: one is linked to a health workplace, one is linked to a construction workplace, one is linked to a community organization and one at a multi-unit dwelling.
The schools and childcare spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:
Centrepointe Home Daycare
École élémentaire catholique La Vérendrye (NEW)
École élémentaire catholique Saint-Jean-Paul II
Lycée Claudel
Osgoode Township High School
Service a l’enfance Grandir Ensemble – 33477
The long-term care homes, retirement homes, hospitals, and other spaces currently experiencing outbreaks are:
Centre D’Acceuil Champlain
Chartwell Duke of Devonshire (NEW)
Extendicare Laurier Manor
Extendicare New Orchard Lodge
Extendicare West End Villa
Forest Hill
Governor’s Walk Retirement
Group Home – 32782
Madonna Care Community
Manoir Marochel
Manotick Place Retirement
Maycourt Hospice (NEW)
Rockcliffe Retirement Residence
Sarsfield Colonial Home
Shelter – 28778
Shelter – 29677
Shelter – 29770
Shelter – 29860
Shelter – 33435
Shelter – 33687
Supported Independent Living – 32891
The Ottawa Hospital – Civic Campus – A2
The Ottawa Hospital – Civic Campus – A4 (Medicine)/A5/B5/Ama
The Ottawa Hospital – General Campus – Single Unit 7Ncc/Ccu
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).
Two staff or patient cases of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 within a specified hospital unit within a 14-day period where both cases could have reasonably acquired their infection in hospital is considered an outbreak in a public hospital.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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