Ottawa adds 48 COVID-19 cases, active cases below 900

Ottawa Public Health is reporting its second consecutive day of fewer than 50 new COVID-19 infections as overall levels of the virus continue to drop in the nation’s capital.

OPH added 48 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday and reported two deaths related to the virus in the past 24 hours.

There have now been 26,691 cases of COVID-19 locally and 558 deaths tied to the pandemic in Ottawa.

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Of those cases, 855 are now considered active.

There are currently 51 Ottawa residents in hospital with COVID-19, with the number of patients in the intensive care unit dropping to 12, down from 15 the day prior.

The number of ongoing coronavirus outbreaks in Ottawa dropped to 23 as of Tuesday as an outbreak affecting a services-based workplace was declared over in the past day.

Ottawa is also continuing to make progress on its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, even amid technical issues booking appointments on the provincial system.

Some 58 per cent of Ottawa residents aged 18 and older have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Monday. Five per cent of adults in Ottawa, or just under 40,000 people, are considered fully vaccinated with two doses.

On Sunday, the province opened up eligibility for youth aged 12 to 17 to book vaccine appointments. So far, only four per cent of teens in this age range have received an initial dose.

The city released a new batch of appointments at community clinics over the weekend to accommodate the fresh demand.

But some Ottawa residents are facing technical issues booking new appointments via the provincial system.

Vaccine Hunters Canada has flagged an issue with the booking system preventing access when residents enter their full postal code.

Instead, the volunteer group has suggested the workaround of entering only the first three digits of the postal code and selecting “City of Ottawa Health Unit” from the drop-down menu to gain access to the system.