Ottawa’s second wave of COVID-19 is setting new records for single-day increases in the number of local coronavirus cases.
Ottawa recorded 93 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, three more than were initially reported from Ontario’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Ottawa has now seen 3,772 cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic.
There are 587 active cases of the virus now in Ottawa.
Tuesday’s increase surpasses the previous single-day record of 76 cases set back in April.
Ottawa Public Health (OPH) also shows three new deaths linked to the virus, bringing the local death toll to 279.
Eleven people are in hospital with COVID-19, two of whom are in the intensive care unit.
A new coronavirus outbreak was also declared at an Ottawa school.
One staff member and one student at the École élémentaire catholique Montfort have tested positive for the virus according to OPH, but due to an effective use of the cohort system, the outbreak has not forced the school to close.
“Through contact tracing, affected cohorts have been identified as high-risk contacts and instructed to self-isolate and provided guidance on testing. Three classrooms have been suspended for in-person education, however the school remains open,” an OPH spokesperson told Global News.
Monsignor Paul Baxter closed due to a coronavirus outbreak earlier this week after it confirmed cases in two staff members and two students.
Twenty-seven schools across all four boards in Ottawa are now reporting cases of the virus, according to Ontario’s system tracking the virus in schools across the province.
In total, there are currently 25 coronavirus outbreaks in Ottawa, including long-term care homes, daycares and workplaces.
Long lineups and overwhelmed assessment centres continue to be a barrier for many in Ottawa hoping to get tested for the virus.
Both the Queensway Carleton Hospital and l’Hôpital Montfort, which run the Moodie and Heron care centres, said their respective sites had reached maximum capacity before noon on Tuesday.
Appointments for the drive-thru Coventry Road testing site are also booked solid for the next two days.
The Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario has started rolling out appointment slots for its testing site at Brewer Arena, but said in a tweet late Monday evening that all of the trial spots for its new system had already been taken.
A pop-up testing site was opened in Jules Morin park Tuesday catering to Lowertown residents and families with students attending De La Salle high school.
OPH shared a diagram on Twitter illustrating how a recent 40-person barbecue in Ottawa with two attendees showing symptoms led to two outbreaks of the virus and more than 100 people being forced to self-isolate and get tested due to risks of infection stemming from the single event.