COVID-19 outbreaks rise during fairly stable month in Ottawa

Recent developments:

• Most OttawaCOVID-19 trends are stable or dropping.
• Rising number of COVID outbreaks is an outlier.
• 10 more peoplewith COVID have died in the region.

The latest

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) saysCOVID trends are stableat moderate to very high levels.

Expertsstrongly recommendpeople wear masks indoorsand, in Ontario, in the daysafter having COVID symptoms. Staying home when sickandbeing up-to-date with COVID and flu vaccinesalsohelp protect vulnerable people.

Non-COVID respiratoryvirus levels are generally low and seasonal.

Wastewater

Data from the research teamshows, as of Feb. 16,the weekly average level of coronavirus in Ottawa's wastewater is stable.OPHconsidersthis averageto behigh.

Hospitals

The health unit's count of active, local COVID-19 hospital patients dropped to 15 inthe last update, the lowest count since November.

One of the patients is in intensive care.

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 count is also stable.

Tests, outbreaks and deaths

Ottawa's COVID-19 test positivity rate remainsaround 12 per cent, which OPH calls moderate.

Ottawa has 26 active COVID outbreaks.OPH says that's very high and it's been rising since the start of last week. This count was 16 a week ago.

OPH has reported 143 more COVID cases since Friday and no more COVID deaths.In all,1,018 Ottawa residents have died since the start of the pandemic with COVID as a contributing or underlying factor.

Vaccines

Thirty per cent of Ottawans age 12 and older have had a COVID vaccine dose within the last six months, as is generally recommended,with older age groups having higher rates.

The share of those 12 and olderwho haven't had a vaccine dose over the past year has risenone percentage point.

This does not factor inimmunity from getting COVID.

About 1,400 to 1,600 doses have been given in Ottawa in each of the last three weeks. That's similar to the number given in the first week of the city's COVID vaccine campaign in December 2020.

As of the most recent weekly update, 85per cent of Ottawa residents had at least one COVIDvaccine dose, 82per cent had at least two, 56per cent at least three and 31 per cent at least four.

Across the region

Spread

Coronavirus wastewater averages are high and rising in one of Kingston's sites and low andfalling at the other. They're stable across Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL) county sites and in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU).

They'reotherwise out of date or unavailable outside of Ottawa.

The Kingston area's average COVID test positivity drops to 11 per cent.

The EOHU'sCOVID risk level is still considered low.

Hospitalizations and deaths

Eastern Ontario communities outsideOttawa report about 25COVID-19 hospitalizations, with one patientin intensive care in the EOHU.

That regional countdoesn'tincludeHastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health,which has a different counting method. Its local hospitalization count has fallen from 17 to 12 patients, around where it's been for most of the year.

Western Quebec has 84 COVID hospital patients, up slightly from last week but in the same general range as the last several months. None of them arein intensive care.

The Kingston area reported four more COVID deaths in the last week, bringing its total to 113.

The province also reported four more COVID deaths in western Quebec on Wednesday for a total of 394. The local health agencyhas stopped reporting COVID deaths, instead referring people to the province's count.

LGL reported its 150th COVIDdeath overall and the EOHU reported its 289th.

Vaccines

The Kingston area's health unit says 32 per cent of its population age five and up have had a COVID vaccine in the last six months. It's26 per cent in HPE and unavailable elsewhere.

Across eastern Ontario, between 79 and90 per cent of residents age five and up have received at least two COVID-19 vaccine doses, and between 52 and65 per cent of those residentshave hadat leastthree, according to the province.