Ottawa Public Health is reporting a jump in the number of residents hospitalized with COVID-19 — some now requiring intensive care — on Tuesday.
The local public health unit says 19 people are now in hospital with COVID-19, four more than on Monday. Two patients are now listed in the intensive care unit, where there were none previously.
OPH added 34 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday as the number of active cases in the city rose to 293.
No new deaths were reported related to the virus.
Ottawa has also seen a rise lately in its reproduction number, or R, which refers to the average number of secondary infections tied to the typical COVID-19 cases.
While Ottawa’s R value was below one for much of October — implying the spread of the virus was slowing down rather than speeding up — that number has risen steadily above that threshold since the start of November.
The estimated seven-day average R value is now 1.27, according to OPH’s latest stats.
Two new COVID-19 outbreaks were added to OPH’s dashboard on Tuesday, including one affecting a ward at The Ottawa Hospital’s General campus where two patients have tested positive for the virus.
Four other units at the Civic campus are also facing active outbreaks, OPH’s dashboard shows.
There are now 21 ongoing outbreaks across the city.
The largest open outbreak has affected 39 individuals at local shelter, four of whom are staff.