Schools battle large respiratory outbreaks as COVID-19 indicators mostly subside

Recent developments:

• Ottawa's COVID-19 trends are mostly dropping.
• Its flu cases and test positivity are above the pre-pandemic average.
• Some ofthe city'sschool respiratory outbreaks are well over 100 students.
• Five more local residents with COVID have died.
• Belleville-area COVIDhospitalizations drop to their lowest point since July.

The latest guidance

Officials in Ontario and Quebec say the health-care system, particularly for children, is under extraordinary pressure because ofCOVID-19,earlyflu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)seasons, as well asa medication shortage.

• If you don't have a family doctor, Quebec saysto use this system before theER

Signs locally and more broadly indicatethe spread ofRSVand COVIDare both slowing, but the same can't be said for the flu.

Ottawa's weekly respiratory update says flu activity is rising. Its confirmed flu cases and test positivity are already above the average pre-pandemic peak in winter.

Expertsstrongly recommendpeople wear masks indoors. Staying home when sick, keeping hands and surfaces cleanand keeping up-to-date with COVID and flu vaccines are also recommendedto help keep vulnerable people safe.

Wastewater

The weekly average level of coronavirusin Ottawa's wastewater ismoderate, according to Ottawa Public Health (OPH). Itsays that as of Nov. 24the average has slowly droppedthis month and sits ata level last seen in June.

Tests, outbreaks and deaths

Testing strategieschangedunderthe Omicron variant, meaning manyCOVID-19 casesaren't reflected incounts. Public health officials now only trackand reportoutbreaksin health-care settings.

Ottawa's COVID test positivity rate is about 11per cent, which OPH considers high. Ithas been generally dropping over the last month and was around 22 per cent a month ago.

There are 18active COVID outbreaks in Ottawa. This is moderate, according to OPH, and the number has beendropping.

The health unit also reports oneflu outbreak, while the number of "other" respiratory outbreaks nearly allin child-care settings have fallen back to around 40. Fiveof the active respiratory outbreaks in schools have more than 100 cases, though.

OPH reported 81 more COVID cases over four days. Monitoring active cases became less useful after large-scale testing changes, but the current known active case count of 300 is Ottawa's lowest of 2022.

The capital also reportedthe deaths of threepeople age 60 and abovewith COVID.In all,968Ottawa residents who had COVID have died since the start of the pandemic, including358of them this year.

Hospitals

OPH's count of active, local COVID-19 hospital patients sits at 18, according toTuesday's update, with fourpatientsin intensive care.

The health unit says the number of COVID hospital admissions is moderate.

There is another count that includesotherpatients, such as peopleadmitted for other reasons who then test positive for COVID, those admitted for lingering COVIDcomplications, and thosetransferred from other health units.

That number increased slightly Tuesday and remains generally stable.

Vaccines

About 11,600 COVID-19 vaccine doses were given to Ottawa residents in the last week. This weekly number has generally ranged between 10,000 and 15,000 this fall.

About 9,000of the shots were fourth doses.

As of the most recent weekly update, 93per cent of Ottawa residents aged five and up had at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose,90 per cent had at least two and 61 per cent at least three.

Thirty-three per cent of Ottawans aged 12 and older had at least four doses.

About 9,000residents younger than five have had a first dose, which isabout 20per cent of Ottawa's population of that age group. About 3,750, or eightper cent, have had two.

Across the region

Spread

Wastewater trends are droppinginKingston,and low and dropping across Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL) counties. They're rising in Hawkesbury and low in the rest of the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU).

Data from other areas is out of date or unavailable.

After a brief drop, COVID test positivity in the EOHU rises back to around 17 per cent, about where it was over the previous month. Test positivity in the Kingston area is stable around 10 per cent; it's been higher for most of 2022.

Hospitalizations and deaths

Western Quebec's health authority,CISSSO,reporteda rise to 89COVID-19hospitalizations. Oneof the patients is in intensive care.

Eastern Ontario communities outsideOttawa reportabout 40COVID hospitalizations. Theirsixintensive care COVID patients are all in the Kingston area..

That regional countdoesn'tincludeHastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health,which has a different counting method. Its count droppedto twoTuesday for the first time since July.

That health unit also says it has a high level of flu activity.

LGL's health unit reported two more COVID deaths in its weekly update for a total of 139.

This is by far the deadliest year for reported COVID-19 deaths in the wider Ottawa-Gatineau region, with nearly half ofits more than 2,000 reported COVID deaths coming in 2022.

Of the seven local health authorities,Ottawa is the only onethat hasn't had its most reported COVID deaths in 2022.

Nationally,people dying of COVIDin the later months of 2022have generally been older, living with pre-existing conditions, orundergoing immune-suppressing treatments.

Vaccines

Across eastern Ontario, between 81 and92 per cent of residents age five and up have received at least two COVID-19 vaccine doses, and between 53 and65 per cent of those residentshave hadat leastthree.