COVID-19's slow late-summer swell continues
Health unit says health-care spaces at high risk, more hospitals changing mask rules
Recent developments:
- Ottawa's COVID-19 trends are mostly stable or rising.
- The local public health unit says levels are either moderate or high.
- Two Ottawa hospitals have changed their mask rules.
- Nine more local COVID deaths have been reported.
The latest
The city's pandemic numbers to watch are mostly stable or rising at moderate to high levels in the weekly Ottawa Public Health (OPH) updates.
Because of this, OPH says the city's health-care institutions are at a high risk from respiratory illnesses like they would be in December, January and February.
Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches said around the start of the month that, like last year, COVID activity is expected to pick back up in autumn along with flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Citing the respiratory virus season, The Ottawa Hospital said it's bringing back mandatory masking in waiting rooms and clinical areas such as patient rooms and nursing stations on Monday, Sept. 11.
The Queensway Carleton Hospital made a similar move at the end of August.
Experts recommend that people wear masks, keep their hands clean, stay home when sick and keep up to date with COVID vaccines to help protect themselves and vulnerable people.
Updated booster doses are expected in early autumn.
WATCH | How to help protect against COVID this autumn:
Wastewater
Data from the research team shows that as of Sept. 4, the average coronavirus wastewater level has been slowly rising for nearly two months after a lower spell in May, June and early July.
OPH considers this to be high, up from moderate.
Hospitals
The average number of Ottawa residents in local hospitals for COVID-19 in the last week is stable at 27, with one patient in an ICU. This is a moderate number, according to OPH.
There's also a separate count that includes patients who tested positive for COVID after being admitted for other reasons, were admitted for lingering COVID complications and were transferred from other health units. It's dropped after rising quickly for a few weeks.
Tests, outbreaks, deaths and vaccines
The city's weekly average test positivity rate is about 19 per cent and has stayed within that general range for the last three weeks. OPH still considers this high.
OPH says there are 26 active COVID outbreaks, also a high number and up slightly from last week. More than half are in care homes.
The health unit reported 163 more COVID cases in the last week and eight more COVID deaths, all people age 80 and above.
Thirty per cent of Ottawa residents age five and up have had a COVID vaccine in the last year, according to OPH. This doesn't account for immunity from infections.
Across the region
Spread
Wastewater trends outside Ottawa are a week or more old. They're stable in Kingston, Cornwall and Hawkesbury and Smiths Falls, but rising in Brockville. This data is otherwise not available.
The average COVID-19 test positivity is a stable 16 per cent in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) and a stable 12 per cent in the Kingston area.
Hospitalizations and deaths
Eastern Ontario communities outside Ottawa report 11 COVID-19 hospitalizations, with one of these patients in intensive care. That's up slightly from previous weeks.
That regional count doesn't include Hastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health, which also shares a weekly average. They reported seven hospitalizations in their most recent update, which is stable. One patient is in intensive care.
Western Quebec has a stable seven hospital patients with COVID. None are in intensive care.
The EOHU has reported its 310th COVID death.
The entire region, Ottawa included, has now surpassed 250 reported COVID deaths in 2023. There were more than 1,000 last year, about 500 in 2021 and nearly 600 in 2020.
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