Respiratory trends settle after last week's leap

Recent developments:

• Ottawa's COVID-19 numbersare mostly stable.
• Individual trends range from low tovery high.
• RSV activity is generally high,flu numbers generally low.
• Twenty-twomore local COVID deaths have been reported.

The latest

The city's COVID-19 numbers to watch aremostly stable at levels ranging from low tovery highin this week'sOttawa Public Health (OPH) updates.

The latest numbers show a generally high amount of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity,while flu trendsare mostly low.

This is a slight improvementafter several indicators jumped last week.

Expertsrecommendthat people cover coughs and sneezes,wear masks, keep their hands and often-touched surfaces clean, stay home when sick andkeepup to date with COVID and flu vaccinesto help protect themselves andvulnerable people.

OPHsaysthe city's health-care institutions remainat a high risk from respiratory illnesses, as they havebeen since early September.

Wastewater

Data from the research teamshows, as of Nov. 15,the average coronavirus wastewater levelhas been settlingdown from the second spike in a month. OPH still considers this very high.

Hospitals

In the past week, the average number of Ottawa residentsin local hospitals for COVID-19is a stable 69, with threepatients in an ICU.

Aseparate count which includespatientswho either testedpositive for COVIDafter being admitted for other reasons, wereadmitted for lingering COVIDcomplications or were transferred from other health unitshasrisen again.

There were 11new patients in the previous week, compared to 54 the week before.OPH sees11 as a low number of new hospitalizations.

Tests, outbreaks and deaths

The city's weekly average test positivity rate is about 17 per cent,which has remained stable. OPH categorizes this as high.

The 34 active COVID outbreaks are also stable.Almost all outbreaks are in either retirement homes or hospitals,and there are a very highamount of new outbreaks.

The health unit reported 285 more COVID cases in the last weekand sixmoreCOVIDdeaths.Five victims werein their 80s and one in their 70s.

OPH'snext COVID vaccinationupdateis expected in early December.

Across the region

Spread and vaccination

The Kingston area's health unitsays its COVID trends are stable atmoderate to very highlevels and it'sin ahigh-risk time for transmission. Fluindicatorsarelow and RSV trends are moderate.

The area's average coronavirus wastewater reading is considered very high and rising, while itsaverage COVID-19 test positivity rate is a moderate, stable 15 per cent.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) says it's in a high-risk time for COVID, with high wastewater readings and a very hightest positivity rate of29 per cent.

COVID tests in Renfrew County are coming backpositive about 25 per cent of the time.

Hastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health says 13 per cent of its residents have had a COVID vaccine in the last six months, up from 12 per cent last week.

Hospitalizations and deaths

The EOHUsees a rise to 27 COVID hospitalizations, which it considers very high.

The Kingston area's health unit says it has 21active COVID-19 patients in its hospitals, including anyone living in a different health unit. That is categorized ashigh and stable.

HPE, like Ottawa, gives a weekly COVID hospital average: a slight drop to 16 in its weekly update, with about four ICU patients.

Renfrew County has four COVID hospital patients, two of them in intensive care.

Western Quebec drops to 72hospital patients with COVID. The province says there have been five more COVID deaths there for a total of 521.

Renfrew County reported its eighth COVID death of 2023, which is its 90th overall. The health unit forLeeds, Grenville and Lanark(LGL) counties reported its 173rd COVID death.

HPE reported nine more deaths, including "missing historical deaths from January 15, 2020 to March 31, 2023."

The entire region has passed both 350 reportedCOVID deathsin 2023 and 2,500 total reported victims.

LGL data goes up to Nov. 12.