Ottawa sets record with 242 new COVID-19 cases
CBC News | Posted: April 9, 2021 3:51 PM | Last Updated: April 9, 2021
Hospitalizations, test positivity also see unprecedented surge
- Ottawa is reporting a record 242 new COVID-19 cases.
- Hospitalizations in the city continue to soar, including patients in ICU.
- Health authorities in the Outaouais are reporting 120 new cases and two more deaths.
Today's Ottawa update
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) reported a record 242 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, eclipsing the previous record of 240 set on April 3. Another 166 cases are considered resolved, and there has been one more death.
Ottawa currently has 2,023 known active cases, just one of several records set during this third wave, which features more dangerous coronavirus variants.
City and health officials are speaking at 1 p.m. ET.
Ontario is under a provincewide stay-at-home order until at least early May.
Numbers to watch
146: The weekly incidence rate, the rolling seven-day total of new COVID-19 cases expressed per 100,000 residents, has risen well above the previous record of 98 reached in January.
9.2%: The percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive, a record high.
71: The number of Ottawa residents being treated in hospital for COVID-19, a new record. Of those, 24 patients are in intensive care, also a new record.
1.05: The number of people infected by a single COVID-19 case, or R(t). The spread of the coronavirus is considered under control if that figure is kept below one. It's been above one for more than four weeks.
1,623: The number of cases in Ottawa confirmed or suspected to involve coronavirus variants.
157,037: The number of Ottawa residents who have received their first vaccine dose, an increase of more than 14,000 since Wednesday.
25,415: The number of Ottawa residents who have received both vaccine doses.
Across the region
Case totals in the Outaouais have also been breaking records as restrictions there are tightened, particularly in the Gatineau area. On Thursday, Quebec's premier said that region's test positivity was nearing 20 per cent.
The region's health authority reported 120 new cases and two more deaths Friday.
The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark District Health Unit is reporting another 23 cases since its last update. The Eastern Ontario Health Unit also logged 23 cases, with two deaths.
Hastings Prince Edward Public Health, which is experiencing what its medical officer of health calls an "unprecedented" rise in cases, reported 18 new ones. Renfrew County's health unit has 10 more cases Friday.
Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Public Health is again warning people age 18 to 29 about spread in that age group, saying they represent 70 per cent of active cases. They represent less than 20 per cent of its population.