Ottawa’s COVID-19 case count is quickly climbing once again, reaching heights Monday not seen since last spring, as an outbreak believed to involve the Omicron variant of concern shuts down a local school.
Ottawa Public Health reported 129 new cases of COVID-19 in its latest report, raising the number of active cases in the city to 733.
OPH last reported more than 125 cases in a single day in mid-May when Ottawa was coming out of its largest wave of the pandemic to date.
There are now eight confirmed cases of the Omicron variant of concern in Ottawa, up from five at the end of last week. OPH confirmed on Saturday that it has detected evidence of community transmission of the variant.
Monitoring indicators such as Ottawa’s COVID-19 incidence rate and reproduction number, or R, are also seeing rapid rises.
OPH is now reporting a weekly rate of 56.4 cases per 100,000 people in Ottawa, nearly double the seven-day average at the start of December.
Ottawa’s weekly estimated R value, which refers to the average number of secondary infections tied to the average COVID-19 cases, stands at 1.31 as of Monday, up from 1.03 at the end of November. Values of greater than one indicate the spread of the virus is speeding up rather than slowing down.
Hospitalization figures remain low in Ottawa. There are currently six people in hospital with the virus locally, none of whom are in the intensive care unit.
Outbreaks of the virus continue to hit Ottawa’s elementary schools.
There are currently 24 elementary schools and one high school in Ottawa facing outbreaks.
The French Catholic elementary school Saint-Jean Paul II in Stittsville is closed to start the week due to an outbreak that is “likely” to be the Omicron variant, according to a letter sent from OPH to parents of the school. Thirteen people have so far tested positive for the virus in connection with the outbreak.
All students and staff at the school have been deemed high-risk contacts and are asked to self-isolate. All members of the school community are urged to get tested and take-home kits will be available for pick up at the school on Tuesday.
Half Moon Bay Public School in Barrhaven is also still closed amid 66 active COVID-19 cases among students, according to the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board’s dashboard.
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