Virus continues to spread outside nursing homes, OPH warns

Public health officials are warning that while about half the confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa can be traced to long-term care homes and similar institutions, the virus is still being spread throughout the broader community, often by people who don't feel sick.

During an update broadcast on YouTube Friday, Vera Etches, Ottawa's medical officer of health, estimated about 20 per cent of confirmed cases in the city were acquired through community transmission. She said transmission of the virus can occur before any symptoms. 

According to Ottawa Public Health (OPH), 1,753 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 189 have died from the respiratory illness. The vast majority of positive cases are classified as resolved.

Etches repeated her call for anyone with symptoms to get tested so health officials can get a sense of where and how the virus is spreading

Currently, OPH is able to begin contact tracing for each new case within one day, 90 per cent of the time, Etches said.

Classic symptoms of COVID-19 include coughing, a fever and difficulty breathing. Less common symptoms, according to OPH, include: a sore throat, difficulty swallowing, loss of taste and/or smell, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, pneumonia and a runny or stuffy nose.

As the province begins taking steps to reopen the economy over the next few days, Etches urged people to wear a fabric or non-medical mask when they can't remain two metres apart from others. Continued physical distancing remains important to keep hospitalizations to a minimum, she said.