Ottawa exceeds 2K active COVID-19 cases, 50 outbreaks – Ottawa | The Canadian News

Ottawa Public Health reported more than 300 COVID-19 cases for the third day in a row on Tuesday, as active cases return to levels not seen since May.

Ottawa added 325 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the number of active cases in the city to 2,147.

Four new COVID-19 outbreaks were added to OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday. There are now 52 active outbreaks across the city, 31 of which affect local schools.

One of the new outbreaks affects a long-term home. A staff member at the Extendicare Starwood home tested positive for the virus, according to OPH, but the outbreak has not yet spread to residents.

The Granite Ridge and St. Patrick long-term care homes in Ottawa also continue to explode.

There are six people in the hospital with COVID-19 locally, none of whom are in the intensive care unit.

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Ottawa health medical officer Dr. Vera Etches warned that deaths and hospitalizations are lagging indicators in the COVID-19 pandemic that will increase as the case count continues to rise in the city.

Access to COVID-19 tests, both PCR and rapid antigen, has been limited in Ottawa this week as the worrying variant of Omicron increases demand.

Ottawa’s COVID Testing Task Force said in a statement Monday night that while its partners are “working overtime” to increase capacity in the city, it anticipates a change in testing guidance in the coming days to focus on essential workers and vulnerable populations.

On the COVID-19 vaccine front, OPH added 56,000 appointments for booster shots in the city shortly after 8 a.m., but all were installed four hours later.

As of Monday morning, OPH had administered more than 150,000 third doses of the vaccine throughout the city. About two-thirds of those doses have been given to residents 60 years of age and older.

So far, 57 percent of children ages five to 11 receive a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Citywide, 89 percent of all residents age five and older receive a first dose, while 82 percent have two.

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