Ottawa's COVID trends are rising, some of them quickly

Recent developments:

• Ottawa's COVID-19 levels are rising and moderate to very high.
• Its hospitalizationsand outbreaks have spiked.
• Some numbers are back where they were at the start of 2023.
• Quebec recommends an autumnbooster dose for vulnerable people.
• Sixmore local COVID deaths have been reported.

The latest

The city's pandemic numbers to watch are all going up in the weekly Ottawa Public Health (OPH) update amid concerns over a new wave and COVID-19mutations.

Those levels range from moderate to very high, according to OPH. High levels have been rare in recent months, let alone very high.

The last time OPH said it wasconcerned about high levels ofCOVID-19 for the general public was mid-January. Some of the indicatorsthis Wednesday including hospitalizations and the average test positivityare back around that point.

Expertsrecommendthat whenpeople feel sick, they stay home and weara mask if they have to go out in public. There's more discussion about wearing a mask in or avoiding crowded indoor settings.

Staying up to date with COVIDvaccinescan alsohelp protect vulnerable people. Updated booster doses are expected in early autumn.

Wastewater

Data from the research teamshows, as of Aug. 20,the average coronavirus wastewater levelhas been slowly rising for about six weeks, breaking out of the range where it had stayed since the end of April.

OPH considers this to be moderate.

Hospitals

The average number of Ottawa residentsin local hospitals for COVID-19 in the last week is 34,with onepatientin an ICU. Two weeks ago it was six and a week ago it was 17.

OPH switched to a weekly hospitalization average at the start of July, meaning it isn't a direct comparison to the previous hospitalizationsnapshots. The last time those snapshots were around this average was January and February2023.

A separate countincludespatientswho testedpositive for COVIDafter being admitted for other reasons, those admitted for lingering COVIDcomplicationsand thosetransferred from other health units.

It has risen back to where it was in early spring 2023 and also when OPH expressed concern inmid-January. At the end of July there were six of these patients.

Tests, outbreaks,deaths and vaccines

The city's weekly average test positivity rate is about 17 per cent.It has more than doubled in just over a week and is similar to where it was at the start of 2023. OPH now considers this very high.

OPH says its 18 active COVID outbreaks are a high number. That'sup from four last week and about half of them are in hospitals.

The health unit reported 174 more COVID cases in the last weekand two moreCOVIDdeaths. One victim was in their 70s and the other was age 90 or above.

The nextOttawa COVID vaccination updateis expected in early September.

Across the region

Spread

Coronavirus wastewater averages are low, but at least a week oldin Kingston,Cornwall and HawkesburyandBrockville and Smiths Falls. They're otherwise notshared.

The average COVID-19 test positivity isstable around 10per cent in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) and the Kingston area.

Hospitalizations and deaths

Eastern Ontario communities outsideOttawa report a stable sevenCOVID-19 hospitalizations, with none of these patients in intensive care.

That regional countdoesn'tincludeHastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health,whichshares a weekly average of itslocal hospitalization count. That numberrose from one to sixin the most recent update.

Western Quebec has a stable fourhospital patients with COVID, with nonein intensive care.

Thehealth unit for Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties reported another threeCOVID deaths. The Kingston area also had another of these deaths, according to its health unit.

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