Ottawa Public Health is reporting a relative dip in new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, though several key metrics in the city’s efforts to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic remain worrying.
The local public health unit reported an increase of 87 new COVID-19 on Jan. 6, the first time in 2021 the city has seen its case count rise by less than 100.
Ottawa has now recorded 10,682 cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic, with 869 of those cases considered active. That’s up from 843 the day before.
No new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported in Ottawa on Wednesday.
The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 increased slightly to 19, with nine people now in the intensive care unit (ICU). OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard shows that 95 per cent of acute care beds and 82 per cent of ICU beds are currently occupied in local hospitals.
The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive in Ottawa is up to 4.4 per cent in the past week, up from 4.2 per cent over the previous period.
One new coronavirus outbreak was declared at le Centre de l’enfant aux 4 vents daycare where two staff have tested positive for the virus. One more outbreak was meanwhile resolved, keeping the number of ongoing outbreaks in the city at 41 as of Wednesday.
Ottawa began inoculating residents of long-term care homes against the virus on Friday, with the city’s top doctor Dr. Vera Etches saying she hopes the vaccinations will reduce hospitalizations and deaths related to COVID-19 come February.
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