No leaps in respiratory trends as February wraps
Few drops also as Ottawa hits 6 months of high respiratory risk
Recent developments:
- Ottawa's COVID-19 and RSV numbers remain low to moderate.
- Some flu trends are still seen as very high.
- Nine more COVID deaths have been reported locally.
The latest
Ottawa got into high-risk respiratory territory at the end of August. Six months later, those risks are still high.
The weekly respiratory update from Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is broadly stable whether you drill down into COVID-19, flu or RSV.
That means flu levels remain higher than COVID and RSV ones, including very high influenza wastewater readings and new hospitalizations.
Experts recommend people cover coughs, wear masks, keep hands and often-touched surfaces clean, stay home when sick and keep up with COVID and flu vaccines to help protect themselves and vulnerable people.
As mentioned, OPH says the city's health-care institutions remain at high risk from respiratory illnesses. This is always the case in December, January and February, it says, and it will be the case until respiratory trends are low again.
In Ottawa
Spread
Ottawa's coronavirus wastewater average had been stable for about two weeks as of Feb. 26
OPH said that level is moderate.
The weekly average test positivity rate in the city is a stable nine per cent, which is low to OPH.
Hospitalizations, outbreaks, vaccines and deaths
The average number of Ottawa residents in local hospitals for COVID-19 is stable at 29 over the last week.
A separate wider count — which includes patients who tested positive for COVID after being admitted for other reasons, were admitted for lingering COVID complications or were transferred from other health units — is down to its lowest count since August.
OPH considers the number of new COVID-related hospitalizations in the city — 21 — as moderate again.
The active COVID outbreak count is down to nine. There is a moderate number of new outbreaks.
The health unit reported 83 more COVID cases and three more COVID deaths in the last week.
OPH's next COVID vaccination update is expected next week.
After nearly four years, OPH said it is also ending its COVID-specific dashboard after this week. Much of the information is now reflected in OPH's respiratory updates. OPH said COVID open data will continue to be updated and the dashboard's data will be archived.
Across the region
The Kingston area's health unit says it's also in the midst of a high-risk time for respiratory illness. Its flu, COVID-19 and RSV pictures are all stable and mostly low or moderate.
The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU)'s big-picture assessment rates the overall respiratory risk as moderate and stable.
Hastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health, like Ottawa, gives a weekly COVID case hospital average. That rises slightly to 17. Flu activity there is seen as low.
Renfrew County's trends are stable.
Western Quebec drops to 25 hospital patients who have tested positive for COVID. The province reported three more COVID deaths there.
Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL) counties had two more COVID deaths, according to its health unit. The EOHU has reported one more.
LGL data goes up to Feb. 18, when its trends were generally dropping.