Key COVID-19 numbers in the Ottawa area today
CBC News | Posted: March 17, 2022 4:55 PM | Last Updated: March 17, 2022
Increase in spread expected as rules lift — the key is if it gets concerning
- Ottawa Public Health updates the city about spread, risk prevention.
- The capital's trends are stable Thursday.
- No deaths were reported across the region.
Today's Ottawa update
In a new statement, Ottawa Public Health (OPH) says it expects an increase in COVID-19 transmission as restrictions are removed, and if that becomes concerning, it will go over local options with the province.
Ontario's science table issued a similar message Thursday.
OPH continues to promote vaccinations so that people don't get seriously sick, along with masking in crowded and indoor spaces to protect others. It's launched a new page to help people decide what's safe.
Eleven Ottawa residents are in local hospitals being treated for COVID-19, according to Thursday's OPH update, with two in an ICU. These numbers have been stable this month.
Hospital numbers do not include people who came to hospital for other reasons and then tested positive for COVID-19. They also don't cover people with lingering COVID-19 problems, or patients transferred from other health units.
OPH shares those numbers a few times per week. They are also stable.
The average level of coronavirus in Ottawa's wastewater was dropping earlier this month, but has risen back to around where it was at the start of March.
The level has been generally stable since the middle of February.
Testing strategies have changed under the contagious Omicron variant, meaning many people with COVID-19 aren't reflected in the case count.
OPH reported 130 more COVID-19 cases and no more deaths Thursday. The health unit also reported 10 health-care outbreaks, a number that's remained relatively stable all week.
The rolling weekly incidence rate of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases, expressed per 100,000 residents, is around 60.
The average positivity rate for those who received PCR tests outside long-term care homes was stable around 13 per cent as of Wednesday. The average in homes was also stable around six per cent.
As of Monday's weekly update, 92 per cent of eligible Ottawa residents have at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 88 per cent have at least two and 61 per cent of residents age 12 and up have at least three.
Across the region
Communities outside of Ottawa have about 30 COVID-19 hospitalizations, about 15 of which require intensive care. These numbers have been slowly dropping and don't include Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.
Renfrew County reported nine local COVID hospitalizations in its weekly update, which is stable. Western Quebec's hospitalization count drops to four.
Wastewater trends are stable across Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties and vary in the Kingston area.