Ottawa's COVID trends stable, 1 more death in region
1 person in Eastern Ontario Health Unit has died since last update
Recent developments:
- Ottawa's COVID-19 levels are stable.
- One more person with COVID has died in the region.
The latest
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) says respiratory virus trends are stable at moderate to high levels.
Experts strongly recommend people wear masks indoors and, in Ontario, in the days after having COVID symptoms. Staying home when sick and being up-to-date with COVID and flu vaccines also help protect vulnerable people.
Non-COVID respiratory virus levels are generally low and seasonal.
Wastewater
Data from the research team shows, as of Feb. 16, the weekly average level of coronavirus in Ottawa's wastewater had risen slightly since the last update.
OPH now considers the average to be high, down from its previous assessment of very high.
Hospitals
The health unit's count of active, local COVID-19 hospital patients dropped to 20 from 30 at the last update.
One of the patients is in intensive care.
There is another count that includes other patients, such as people admitted for other reasons who then test positive for COVID, those admitted for lingering COVID complications, and those transferred from other health units.
That count is also stable.
Tests, outbreaks and deaths
Ottawa's COVID-19 test positivity rate rose slightly to around 12 per cent, which OPH calls moderate.
Ottawa has 21 active COVID outbreaks, up from 16 at the last update. OPH says that's very high.
OPH has reported 118 more COVID cases since Tuesday. In all, 1,018 Ottawa residents have died since the start of the pandemic with COVID as a contributing or underlying factor.
Vaccines
Thirty-one per cent of Ottawans age 12 and older have had their most recent COVID vaccine dose within the last six months, as is generally recommended, with older age groups having higher rates.
This does not factor in immunity from getting COVID.
As of the most recent weekly update, 85 per cent of Ottawa residents had at least one COVID vaccine dose, 82 per cent had at least two, 56 per cent at least three and 31 per cent at least four.
Across the region
Spread
Coronavirus wastewater averages are mixed in Kingston and otherwise out of date or unavailable outside of Ottawa.
The EOHU's COVID risk level is considered low.
Hospitalizations and deaths
Eastern Ontario communities outside Ottawa report about 39 COVID-19 hospitalizations, with five patients in intensive care. One person in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit has died since the last COVID-19 update.
That regional count doesn't include Hastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health, which has a different counting method. Its local hospitalization count rises to 17 patients, its highest number since November.
Western Quebec has 74 COVID hospital patients, which is dropping. Two of them are in intensive care. The province is also reporting another COVID death there.
Vaccines
The Kingston area's health unit says 32 per cent of its population age five and up have had a vaccine in the last six months. It's 26 per cent in HPE and unavailable elsewhere.
Across eastern Ontario, between 79 and 90 per cent of residents age five and up have received at least two COVID-19 vaccine doses, and between 52 and 65 per cent of those residents have had at least three.
