Key COVID-19 numbers in the Ottawa area today

• Ottawa is reporting 55 new cases of COVID-19 and one more death.
• Somekey indicatorsare approaching the red zone threshold.
• Western Quebec is reporting 30 more COVID-19 cases.

Today's Ottawa update

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) recorded 55 new cases ofCOVID-19 and one moredeath Monday.

Ottawa and communities under the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) are now under the orange alert level, with slightly more restrictive rules than the rest of eastern Ontario, which is green.

Some of Ottawa'skey indicators have been slowly rising for about a week, nearing levels that would qualify the cityfor a move into the red zone and the tighter restrictions that come with it.

Numbers to watch

37.3:The weekly incidence rate, a rolling seven-day total of new COVID-19 cases expressed per 100,000 residents. The red zone threshold is 40.

2.3%:Ottawa's percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive has risen from 1.8 per cent. The red zone threshold is 2.5per cent.

1.15:The number of people infected by a single COVID-19 case, or R(t).The red zone threshold is 1.2.

2,336:The number of Ottawans testedover a recent three-weekend span as part of the province's targeted asymptomatic school testing program. Twenty people, or 0.85 per cent, were positive.

84%:The percentage of retirement home residents in Ottawa who have received their first COVID-19 vaccine dose.

Across the region

Western Quebec's health authority is reporting 30 new cases of COVID-19 and no more deaths Mondau. A recent outbreak atCHSLD Lionel-mondin Gatineau has spread to 23 people.

Restrictions in that region are due to be loosened further this week.