Ottawa sets new daily record with 183 COVID-19 cases
CBC News | Posted: October 8, 2020 2:48 PM | Last Updated: October 8, 2020
Backlog of more than 1,700 tests complicating matters for public health officials
Ottawa has set another grim record with 183 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported in a single day.
According to Thursday's report from Ottawa Public Health (OPH), one more person has died, bringing the city's death toll to 296, while only 113 more cases are now considered resolved, raising the number of active cases in the city to 879.
About two-thirds of Ottawa's newly confirmed cases are people under 40.
Complicating matters is a serious testing backlog. As of Wednesday afternoon, more than 1,700 tests were waiting to be processed in Ottawa.
Today's COVID-19 data is frankly alarming. - Coun. Keith Egli
According to OPH, residents are getting their test results within 48 hours just 12 per cent of the time, so the vast majority of the new cases reported Thursday represent tests carried out days ago.
A total of 5,153 Ottawa residents have now tested positive for COVID-19; 3,978 of those cases are considered resolved.
Note: This graph has been changed from a five-day average to a seven-day average of newly confirmed cases to reflect epidemiological best practices: a seven-day average evens out the impact of lower testing on weekends.
"Today's COVID-19 data is frankly alarming," said Coun. Keith Egli, chair of Ottawa's board of health, during an OPH news conference Thursday. "We are falling behind."
Dr. Brent Moloughney, associate medical officer of health for OPH, warned residents about the record-breaking cases, citing that both cases and hospitalizations have doubled since the week of Sept. 13.
"We continue to see more hospitalizations, more outbreaks, and most unfortunately, more deaths," said Moloughney. "We are not seeing the curve slow down."
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Four more Ottawa residents are now in hospital with COVID-19 for a total of 32 patients, seven of them in intensive care.
There are currently 12 school outbreaks in Ottawa with four added Thursday: Berrigan Public School, École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Marie, École secondaire publique Louis-Riel and École secondaire catholique Garneau.
The outbreak at the Lycée Claudel private school is over.
To drive home the point that residents should be limiting contact to those within their households, OPH shared another real world example Thursday of what can happen when people don't follow public health rules.
According to OPH, one person with mild symptoms attended a wedding in September, infecting 12 other guests. As a result, the virus was spread further to schools and a group home.