COVID-19 levels remain high and largely stable

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS:

• Ottawa has recorded three new deaths from COVID-19 in the past three days.

Many of the key indicators of COVID-19 levels in Ottawa have remained largely unchanged since Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) last update, but officials say those levels remain elevated. Health officials say the current wave is driven by the BA.5 coronavirus subvariant.

Two Ottawa-area hospitals had to close their emergency departments earlier this month.

OPH asks residents to remain extremely vigilant if they plan to attend any gatherings, and that actions taken now may help influence the outcome of this latest wave in the weeks to come.

On Friday, Ontario’s COVID-19 Science Advisory Table also confirmed that it will be disbanding early next month after more than two years.

The latest update from Ottawa

Waste

The average level of coronavirus in Ottawa’s sewage remains high and relatively unchanged. It rose for more than a month from early June, but fell for most of August.

Hospitals

Twenty-two Ottawa residents have been admitted to a city hospital with COVID-19, according to the latest update from OPH. A patient is in intensive care.

According to SPO, hospitalizations are at a moderate level and have remained largely unchanged since the last update.

The above hospitalization figures do not include all patients. For example, they leave out patients admitted for other reasons who later test positive for COVID-19, those admitted with persistent COVID-19 complications, and those transferred from other health units.

Tests, outbreaks and cases

Testing strategies have changed under the Omicron variant, which means many COVID-19 cases are not reflected in current counts. Now, public health officials only track and report outbreaks in health care settings.

The test positivity rate in Ottawa is just under 15%.

There are currently 40 active COVID outbreaks in Ottawa. These include five new outbreaks recorded over the past three days.

OPH has reported 231 additional cases and three new deaths in the past three days.

A total of 871 Ottawa residents with COVID-19 have died: 381 in 2020, 229 in 2021 and 261 so far this year.

Vaccines

According to the latest weekly update, 93 per cent of Ottawa residents aged five and older had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 89 per cent had received at least two.

Sixty-five per cent of Ottawans aged 12 and older received at least three doses, and 21 per cent received four.

In the whole region

In Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL) counties, sewage levels are down in Brockville and Kemptville. They fell in Smiths Falls and remain stable in the Kingston area.

Western Quebec reports 113 COVID hospitalizations. Four of these patients are in intensive care.

Eastern Ontario communities outside of Ottawa are reporting 48 hospitalizations for COVID, including eight patients in intensive care.

This regional total does not include Hastings Prince Edward Public Health (HPE), which has a different counting method. Its nine hospitalizations are down since the last update and no patients are in intensive care.

Of the seven local health authorities, four have recorded more deaths this year than in 2020 or 2021 – HPE, EOHU, Kingston area and Renfrew County.

In Eastern Ontario, between 81 and 92% of residents aged five and older have received at least two doses of the vaccine, and between 59 and 71% of adults have received at least three.

The total number of vaccine doses administered to local residents exceeded 5.6 million.