Coronavirus: Ottawa announces 34 new positive tests, 3 new deaths

Ottawa Public Health says an additional 34 people in Ottawa have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the last day, with frontline service workers among the latest confirmed or suspected cases.

According to the local public health unit, there have been 977 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, in Ottawa as of Thursday.

The latest report on the pandemic in Ottawa includes news of three new deaths related to the virus. The city’s death toll now stands at 35.

2:19 Coronavirus outbreak: Trudeau calls COVID-19 deaths in long-term care homes ‘unacceptable’

Of the total number of confirmed cases, 11 per cent have required hospitalization, consistent with previous days’ results.

Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, told city council Wednesday that the stability of hospitalizations related to the coronavirus will be the key metric in determining whether the city’s infection rate has peaked.

Among the latest confirmed cases in Ottawa is another OC Transpo bus operator, bringing the total number of infections in the local transit agency up to six.

OC Transpo received news of the positive test on April 21 and the driver has been in self-isolation ever since, according to a memo released Wednesday evening.

The transit agency has released a list of the driver’s routes from April 17-19 to trace whether any riders might have had contact with the operator during that time. Those routes are listed in full below.

Also on Wednesday, Ottawa Public Health reported the temporary closure of the Dr. E Couture Child Care Centre as a precaution while a staff member awaits the results of a coronavirus test.

The staff member in question reported feeling unwell in recent days and agreed to get tested at the advice of a doctor.

While the individual waits 24-48 hours for test results, the public health unit has temporarily closed the child care centre out of an abundance of caution, affecting nine families in total.

Potentially affected OC Transpo routes:

Friday, April 17, 2020

• Route 111: Baseline Station 5:35 a.m. to Billings Bridge Station 6:08 a.m.
• Route 44: Billings Bridge Station 6:15 a.m. to Hurdman Station 6:44 a.m.
• Route 44: Hurdman Station 6:48 a.m. to Billings Bridge Station 7:18 a.m.
• Route 111: Billings Bridge Station 7:27 a.m. to Baseline Station 8 a.m.
• Route 111: Baseline Station 8:05 a.m. to Billings Bridge Station 8:38 a.m.
• Route 44: Billings Bridge Station 8:45 a.m. to Hurdman Station 9:14 a.m.
• Route 44: Hurdman Station 9:18 a.m. to Billings Bridge Station 9:48 a.m.
• Route 111: Billings Bridge Station 9:57 a.m. to Baseline Station 10:30 a.m.
• Route 111: Baseline Station 10:35 a.m. to Billings Bridge Station 11:11 a.m.
• Route 44: Billings Bridge Station 11:22 a.m. to Hurdman Station 11:51 a.m.
• Route 44: Hurdman Station 12 p.m. to Billings Bridge Station 12:31 p.m.
• Route 44: Billings Bridge Station 12:37 p.m. to Hurdman Station 1:06 p.m.
• Route 44: Hurdman Station 1:15 p.m. to Billings Bridge Station 1:46 p.m.
• Route 44: Billings Bridge Station 1:52 p.m. to Hurdman Station 2:21 p.m.

Saturday, April 18, 2020

• Route 75: Rideau Centre 4:09 a.m. to Barrhaven Centre 4:54 a.m.
• Route 75: Barrhaven Centre 4:58 a.m. to Rideau Centre E 5:42 a.m.
• Route 42: Hurdman 6:10 a.m. to Blair 6:40 a.m.
• Route 34: Blair Station 6:47 a.m. to Renaud & Saddleridge Drive 7:17 a.m.
• Route 34: Renaud & Saddleridge Drive 7:17 a.m. to Blair Station 7:55 a.m.
• Route 42: Blair Station 8:05 a.m. to Hurdman Station 8:34 a.m.
• Route 42: Hurdman Station 8:40 a.m. to Blair Station 9:10 a.m.
• Route 34: Blair Station 9:17 a.m. to Renaud & Saddleridge Drive 9:47 a.m.
• Route 34: Renaud & Saddleridge Drive 9:47 a.m. to Blair Station 10:25 a.m.
• Route 42: Blair Station 10:35 a.m. to Hurdman Station 11:04 a.m.
• Route 42: Hurdman Station 11:10 a.m. to Blair Station 11:40 a.m.

Sunday, April 19, 2020

• Route 48: Hurdman Station 7:27 a.m. to Elmvale Acres Shopping Centre 8:01 a.m.
• Route 48: Elmvale Acres Shopping Centre 8:05 a.m. to Hurdman Station 8:36 a.m.
• Route 9: Hurdman Station 8:45 a.m. to Daly Avenue & Nicholas Street intersection 9:10 a.m.
• Route 9: Daly Avenue & Nicholas Street intersection 9:12 a.m. to Hurdman Station 9:39 a.m.
• Route 46: Hurdman Station 10:05 a.m. to Billings Bridge Station 10:40 a.m.
• Route 46: Billings Bridge Station 10:47 a.m. to Hurdman Station 11:27 a.m.