Ottawa’s COVID-19 trends are steady. The city’s health unit says the levels of COVID remain high. Six more Ottawa residents with COVID have died. More than 80 percent of the COVID deaths in Renfrew County occurred in 2022.
The latest guidance
Ottawa’s medical officer of health is urging people to protect themselves and others ahead of what will likely be a difficult winter for the city’s well-being. Vaccines are the best protection against flu and COVID-19, Dr. Vera Etz said Wednesday, as she asked people to stay home when sick and wear masks indoors and in crowded places. She again recommends keeping hands and surfaces clean during respiratory illness season. Hospital leaders say the pressure continues to mount as cold and flu season joins the RSV outbreak during the pandemic. Older children who need intensive care in Ontario may be sent to adult hospitals. Ottawa Public Health (OPH) said at Thursday’s weekly check that levels of COVID-19 remain high. Wastewater The average weekly level of coronavirus in Ottawa’s wastewater is high. It is stable for about a week. As of Nov. 1, the average is about six times higher than this time last year. Researchers who measured and shared the amount of the novel coronavirus in Ottawa’s wastewater found that the weekly average generally rose from early September to mid-October. The most recent data is as of November 1st. (613covid.ca) Tests, outbreaks and outbreaks Testing strategies changed with the Omicron variant, meaning many cases of COVID-19 are not reflected in the current numbers. Public health officials now monitor and report cases only in healthcare settings. The positive rate of the Ottawa test is very high. Right now it’s about 20 percent. it has been at or above 20 percent for about two weeks. There are currently 52 active cases of COVID in Ottawa. This is moderate, according to OPH, and generally stable. OPH reported 287 additional cases over three days and six deaths of people with COVID, all aged 70 and older. A total of 933 Ottawa residents who had COVID-19 have died, 323 of them this year. Hospitals There are inconsistencies with OPH’s count of active, local hospital COVID-19 patients on Friday. When you look at the other number that includes other patients, such as people admitted for other reasons who later test positive for COVID-19, people admitted for prolonged complications of COVID-19, and people transferred from other health facilities, the number rises slightly from previous reports. Ottawa Public Health has a COVID-19 hospital count that shows all hospital patients who have tested positive for COVID, including those admitted for other reasons and who live in other areas. It was 139 on October 30. (Ottawa Public Health) Vaccines According to the most recent weekly update, 93 per cent of Ottawa residents aged five and over had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 90 per cent had at least two and 61 per cent at least three. Twenty-nine per cent of Ottawans aged 12 and over had at least four. About 8,400 residents under the age of five have received the first dose, which is about 18 per cent of Ottawa’s population in that age group.
Throughout the region
Spreading Sewage trends are falling in Kingston. Data from other regions is out of date or unavailable. COVID test positivity is at a high, steady 18 percent in Renfrew County. Hospitalization and deaths CISSSO, the health authority of Western Quebec, reports 102 hospitalizations due to COVID. None of the patients are in intensive care. It reported two more deaths from COVID in its weekly report for a total of 356 pandemics. Eastern Ontario communities outside Ottawa are reporting about 70 hospitalizations with COVID-19, including 12 in intensive care. This regional count does not include Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPE), which has a different counting method. Its hospitalizations are slowly declining from the 2022 high. The Renfrew County Health Unit reported three more deaths from COVID in its weekly update Thursday. It has reported 61 of the 74 deaths from COVID in 2022. Everywhere except Ottawa had more reported deaths from COVID in 2022 than in either 2020 or 2021. Vaccines Across eastern Ontario, between 81 and 92 per cent of residents aged five and over have received at least two doses of the vaccine, and between 53 and 65 per cent of those residents have had at least three.
