The number of new coronavirus cases and deaths related to COVID-19 in Ottawa has dwindled to single digits as the local public health unit has unveiled a new dashboard to monitor key metrics of the pandemic’s spread.
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) says eight people in the city have tested positive for the virus in the past day, bringing the total number of cases up to 1,930 locally.
Meanwhile, two more residents have died due to complications from the virus. Ottawa’s COVID-19 death toll now stands at 240.
A new dashboard displaying key figures in Ottawa’s response to the coronavirus pandemic indicates a downward trend in both the number of people in hospital and in intensive care.
The number of ongoing outbreaks in local institutions such as long-term care homes is also declining, standing at 18 as of Thursday.
The dashboard places Ottawa in the “orange” phase of pandemic danger — just above red but not quite to yellow or green — indicating a need for more time before a return to normalcy can be considered.
One of the metrics the dashboard tracks is the average number of contacts OPH workers are following up with per infected case, currently standing at 4.1.
This figure measures the effectiveness of physical distancing efforts; as the city and the local economy reopen, health officials will be tracking movement in this figure to determine whether residents are relaxing physical distancing efforts too rapidly.