The Ottawa-Carleton Detention Centre (OCDC) is facing a novel coronavirus outbreak, the local public health unit reported Monday.
Ottawa Public Health’s daily COVID-19 dashboard showed a coronavirus outbreak began at the local jail on Oct. 24 after one inmate tested positive for the virus.
A spokesperson for Ontario’s Ministry of the Solicitor General told Global News on Monday that all new inmates are provided testing, with their consent, upon intake and are housed separately for 14 days before joining the general population.
It was an inmate in this “intake unit” who tested positive, the spokesperson said, adding the individual has been isolated and given medical care as appropriate.
Meanwhile, OPH is reporting 76 new coronavirus cases on Monday, raising the total number of lab-confirmed cases in Ottawa to 6,636.
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There are currently 713 active cases of the virus in Ottawa, according to OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard.
An OPH spokesperson told Global News on Monday the local public health unit “has not identified any data trends in proportion of people testing positive for COVID-19 in relation to activities during Thanksgiving weekend.”
Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said Monday that the recent holiday long weekend might be playing a role in surging case numbers in other areas of the province.
One additional person has died in relation to COVID-19 in Ottawa, raising the local death toll of the pandemic to 317.
OPH says 43 people are in hospital with COVID-19, four of whom are in the intensive care unit.
Including the OCDC outbreak, there are currently 68 ongoing coronavirus outbreaks in Ottawa.
Organized sports teams now account for seven of those active outbreaks, with 53 total COVID-19 cases linked to recreational teams and clubs in Ottawa.
— With files from Canadian Press
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