Recent developments:
- Ottawa reports four more deaths from COVID-19.
- The number of its outbreaks in health facilities has increased to 75.
- EOHU reports 237 deaths.
The region is in the seventh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by the BA.5 sub-variant of the coronavirus. This is the first early summer wave.
Ottawa Public Health is specifically asking people to limit contact, consider wearing masks in crowded outdoor areas as well as indoors, and is asking businesses to consider returning policies such as mandatory masks.
The local health system is again strained by the combination of pandemic workload and staff shortages.
Last week 29 ED patients waited one night for an inpatient bed – we rarely see such a high #. This has an impact on wait times as there are fewer spaces available in the ED for new patients. While we do everything we can to ensure patients are seen as soon as possible, some have been waiting for more than 12 hours.
—@QCHOttawa
Ottawa’s latest update
Wastewater
The average level of coronavirus in Ottawa’s wastewater is very high. It has been rising for more than a month, starting in early June, and has slowly declined eight of the last 10 days of data.
That average as of July 24 is about twice as high as a month ago and about 15 times higher than a year ago.
Researchers measuring and sharing the amount of the novel coronavirus in Ottawa’s wastewater reported new pandemic records for daily readings and weekly averages in April 2022. The latest data is from July 24. (613covid.ca)
Hospitals
Thirty-five Ottawa residents have been admitted to a city hospital with COVID-19, according to OPH’s latest update.
Three of them are in intensive care.
A year ago, these hospital patients were three, and two years ago there were nine.
The hospitalization figures above do not include all patients. For example, they miss patients admitted for other reasons who then test positive for COVID-19, those admitted for long-term complications of COVID-19, and those transferred from other health care facilities.
Including these categories, 164 patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized at last count. This number is stable.
Ottawa Public Health has a COVID-19 hospital count that shows all hospitalized patients who test positive for COVID, including those admitted for other reasons and who live in other areas. (Ottawa Public Health)
Tests, outbreaks and cases
Testing strategies have changed with the Omicron variant, meaning many cases of COVID-19 are not reflected in the current count. Public health officials now only track and report outbreaks in healthcare facilities.
The positive test rate in Ottawa is about 20 percent. This is very high and growing. It was about 15 percent a month ago.
There are currently 75 active outbreaks of COVID in Ottawa. That number was up from Tuesday’s update, but still more than quadrupled since the start of July.
OPH reported 402 more cases and four more deaths in the past four days.
In Ottawa, a total of 844 residents have died from COVID-19. Its 234 victims in 2022 surpassed 229 in 2021. There were 381 deaths from COVID in 2020.
Vaccines
As of the last weekly update, 93 per cent of Ottawa residents aged five and over had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 89 per cent had at least two.
Sixty-four per cent of Ottawa residents aged 12 and over received at least three doses, and 16 per cent received four.
OPH reported an increase to about 20,000 vaccine doses given to Ottawa residents in the past week. Almost all were fourth doses.
Throughout the region
In Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL) counties, effluent levels rose in Brockville and Kemptville and remained stable in Smiths Falls. These levels are stable in the Kingston area and fall from peaks in Casselman and Hawkesbury.
Data from other areas is either from at least a week ago or is not publicly available.
Western Quebec reports rise to 80 hospitalizations with COVID. One of the patients is in intensive care.
Eastern Ontario communities outside of Ottawa have reported 53 hospitalizations with COVID, including five patients in intensive care.
This regional total does not include Hastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health, which has a different reporting method. Its nine hospitalizations are stable after a jump last week and it no longer lists patients in intensive care.
It also reported its 64th death from COVID — 45 of them in 2022. The Eastern Ontario Health Unit reported its 237th death.
Of the seven local health authorities, three had more deaths this year than in 2020 or 2021 — HPE, Kingston Region and Renfrew County. All six in eastern Ontario have more in 2022 than in 2021.
In eastern Ontario, between 81 and 92 per cent of residents aged five and over received at least two doses of the vaccine, and between 59 and 71 per cent of adults received at least three.
The total number of doses of vaccines administered to local residents exceeded 5.6 million.
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