Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus declares coronavirus outbreak in emergency department

The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus has declared an outbreak of the novel coronavirus as the city’s new reporting system caught up on a backlog of unreported deaths related to the virus.

Ottawa Public Health’s (OPH) latest report includes 35 additional deaths connected to the novel coronavirus, bringing Ottawa’s COVID-19 death toll to 127 as of Sunday at 2 p.m.

While most OPH reports tally the cumulative deaths in a 24-hour period, a statement from the local public health unit on Monday evening clarified that the latest report reflects a lag in reporting while the city transitioned to a new case management system.

As a result, the 35 deaths in Monday’s report capture patients who died in relation to the virus between April 24 and May 3 — all of which were connected to the city’s long-term care homes.

OPH also identified 21 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Ottawa’s total number of lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 now stands at 1,504.

There are currently 24 ongoing outbreaks of the virus in Ottawa institutions, such as long-term care homes, retirement homes and hospitals.

The Ottawa Hospital Civic Campus is now among those confirmed outbreaks, with four staff members testing positive for the virus.

The Ottawa Hospital said in a statement that it is still safe to visit the hospital should anyone require emergency medical care.

The local hospital has instituted measures, including an expanded staff lounge and increased cleaning frequency, to help contain the outbreak.

OPH reporting sometimes lags outbreak declarations at Ottawa institutions.

Deaths and new cases are similarly not necessarily related to a single 24-hour period, but rather when that data is logged into OPH’s system.