Ottawa's COVID trends are rising, some of them quickly

Recent developments:

• Ottawa's COVID-19 levels are rising and moderate to very high.
• Its hospitalizations and outbreaks have spiked.
• Some numbers are back where they were at the start of 2023.
• Quebec recommends an autumn booster dose for vulnerable people.
• Six more local COVID deaths have been reported.

The latest

The city's pandemic numbers to watch are all going up in the weekly Ottawa Public Health (OPH) update amid concerns over a new wave and COVID-19 mutations.

Those levels range from moderate to very high, according to OPH. High levels have been rare in recent months, let alone very high.

The last time OPH said it was concerned about high levels of COVID-19 for the general public was mid-January. Some of the indicators this Wednesday — including hospitalizations and the average test positivity — are back around that point.

Experts recommend that when people feel sick, they stay home and wear a mask if they have to go out in public. There's more discussion about wearing a mask in or avoiding crowded indoor settings.

Staying up to date with COVID vaccines can also help protect vulnerable people. Updated booster doses are expected in early autumn.

Wastewater

Data from the research team shows, as of Aug. 20, the average coronavirus wastewater level has been slowly rising for about six weeks, breaking out of the range where it had stayed since the end of April.

OPH considers this to be moderate.

Hospitals

The average number of Ottawa residents in local hospitals for COVID-19 in the last week is 34, with one patient in an ICU. Two weeks ago it was six and a week ago it was 17.

OPH switched to a weekly hospitalization average at the start of July, meaning it isn't a direct comparison to the previous hospitalization snapshots. The last time those snapshots were around this average was January and February 2023.

A separate count includes patients who tested positive for COVID after being admitted for other reasons, those admitted for lingering COVID complications and those transferred from other health units.

It has risen back to where it was in early spring 2023 and also when OPH expressed concern in mid-January. At the end of July there were six of these patients.

Tests, outbreaks, deaths and vaccines

The city's weekly average test positivity rate is about 17 per cent. It has more than doubled in just over a week and is similar to where it was at the start of 2023. OPH now considers this very high.

OPH says its 18 active COVID outbreaks are a high number. That's up from four last week and about half of them are in hospitals.

The health unit reported 174 more COVID cases in the last week and two more COVID deaths. One victim was in their 70s and the other was age 90 or above.

The next Ottawa COVID vaccination update is expected in early September.

Across the region

Spread

Coronavirus wastewater averages are low, but at least a week old in Kingston, Cornwall and Hawkesbury and Brockville and Smiths Falls. They're otherwise not shared.

The average COVID-19 test positivity is stable around 10 per cent in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) and the Kingston area.

Hospitalizations and deaths

Eastern Ontario communities outside Ottawa report a stable seven COVID-19 hospitalizations, with none of these patients in intensive care.

That regional count doesn't include Hastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health, which shares a weekly average of its local hospitalization count. That number rose from one to six in the most recent update.

Western Quebec has a stable four hospital patients with COVID, with none in intensive care.

The health unit for Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties reported another three COVID deaths. The Kingston area also had another of these deaths, according to its health unit.

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