While the number of COVID-19 patients in Ottawa hospitals remains in the double digits Tuesday, the city’s intensive care units are again free of the most severe illnesses related to the novel coronavirus.
Ottawa Public Health reported 14 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, a sharp drop from the 45 cases reported on Monday. Tuesdays tend to be the lowest day of the week for new case increases.
No new deaths related to COVID-19 were included in the latest report and there are currently no active outbreaks in the city.
There are 10 people still in hospital with COVID-19 in Ottawa, but the sole patient previously in need of intensive care has left the ICU as of Tuesday.
OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard shows there have so far been 303 confirmed or suspected cases of the Delta variant locally, with 181 of those cases coming in the past 30 days. That compares to 254 Delta variant cases this time last week.
The latest estimates of Ottawa’s reproduction number, or R, which refers to the typical number of secondary infections related to the average COVID-19 case, show a potential slowing of viral spread.
R values greater than one suggest COVID-19 transmission in the city is speeding up, while values below that mark suggest a slowing.
Ottawa’s estimated R value stood at 0.93 as of Tuesday, the first time it has dipped back below one since the start of August.