Ottawa Public Health is reporting 79 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, one year after the first case of the novel coronavirus was confirmed in the city.
The city has seen 15,338 cases of COVID-19 since March 11, 2020, when health officials announced a man in his 40s had tested positive for the virus after returning from a trip to Austria.
That day coincided with the World Health Organization declaring the novel coronavirus a global pandemic. Thursday, flags at Ottawa City Hall are lowered to half-mast as part of a national day of mourning for those lost to the disease.
There have been 446 deaths related to COVID-19 in Ottawa, with none reported in the past 24 hours.
The number of active COVID-19 cases locally is up to 530 as of Thursday.
The city’s coronavirus incidence rate is also back up to 36.8 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 35.6 cases on Wednesday. A rate of 40 infections per 100,000 residents is one of the indicators that would warrant a shift into the red-control zone on Ontario’s COVID-19 reopening framework.
There are currently 28 people in hospital with COVID-19, three of whom are in the intensive care unit.
Three new coronavirus outbreaks were added to OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard on Thursday. There are currently 31 ongoing outbreaks in Ottawa.