Ottawa’s intensive care units are once more free of COVID-19 patients, but the latest update from the local public health unit shows a spike in the number of cases confirmed to be the more-transmissible Delta variant.
Ottawa Public Health added 16 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday while the number of active infections in the city dropped to 152 from 165 the day before.
No new deaths or outbreaks related to COVID-19 were reported in the past day.
The last 24 hours did mark an improvement to the situation in Ottawa hospitals. The city’s intensive care units are now free of the sole COVID-19 patient, with only four people with COVID-19 hospitalized in Ottawa as of Tuesday.
For the past few days, OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard has been unable to show information on COVID-19 variants of concern while the system underwent maintenance.
Tuesday’s report saw variant data return, and with it, a surge of Delta variant cases.
There have now been 254 cases either presumed or likely to be the Delta variant locally, according to OPH, with 161 added in the past 30 days.
A week ago, that figure stood at 112 cases of the Delta variant, with 58 added in the past 30 days.
OPH’s dashboard says the stats tracking the spread of variants include cases with mutations likely to be Delta, as well as those confirmed by genomic analysis.
Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawa’s medical officer of health, said last Thursday that the Delta variant accounted for 60 per cent of all COVID-19 cases in the city from July 4 to Aug. 7.
“The Delta variant is driving an increase in COVID-19 in Ontario and Ottawa,” Etches said.
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