COVID-19: Ottawa hospital ICUs at 74% capacity, health unit says

Ottawa Public Health is reporting 118 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday as the rate of coronavirus hospitalizations in the city remains high.

There are currently 121 Ottawa residents in hospital with COVID-19, according to OPH, 35 of whom are in the intensive care unit.

While the health unit’s COVID-19 dashboard doesn’t include information on COVID-19 patients transferred from out of town, it shows that 93 per cent of acute care beds and 74 per cent of all ICU beds across Ottawa’s health-care system are currently occupied.

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More than a third of the city’s ventilators are currently in use for the most affected patients.

COVID-19 case counts continue to drop off this week, as OPH reports 2,149 cases are currently considered active, roughly 1,000 fewer than this time last week.

Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, said earlier this week that while hospitalizations and case counts appear stable, it’s too soon to talk about lifting restrictions in the region.

There are still 41 COVID-19 outbreaks across Ottawa. Two of the most recent outbreaks have been declared in separate sections of l’Hôpital Montfort, where a total of four people — three patients and one staff member — have tested positive for the virus.

No new deaths related to COVID-19 were reported on Thursday.