Wastewater the key exception to encouraging COVID-19 update

Recent developments:

• Ottawa's COVID-19 numbers are mostlydropping.
• However, its average coronavirus wastewater reading has risen for a month.
• Seven more local peoplewith COVIDhavedied.

The latest

Generally, Ottawa's COVID indicators have remained stable or have droppedfor aboutthree months. Increases have not risen tolevels Ottawa Public Health (OPH) sees as concerning.

Expertsrecommendpeople wear masks indoorsand, in Ontario, in the daysafter having COVID symptoms. Staying home when sickandstaying up to date with COVIDvaccinescan alsohelp protect vulnerable people.

Wastewater

Data from the research teamshows the average coronavirus wastewater levelhas been rising for about a month as of April 11.

OPHconsiders this level to be high.

Hospitals

The number of Ottawa residentsin local hospitals for COVID-19 hasbeen generally stable around 20 for about two months. It dropped to 13 in Friday's update.

A separate countthat includespatientswho testedpositive for COVIDafter being admitted for other reasons, those admitted for lingering COVIDcomplications, and thosetransferred from other health units has dropped.

Tests, outbreaks and deaths

Ottawadrops to11 active COVID outbreaks. According to OPH, that numberis considered moderate.

The city'sCOVID-19 test positivity rate has stayed around eight or nineper cent this month, which OPH says is also moderate.

OPHreported 67more COVID cases since Tuesday and thedeaths of six people who hadCOVID.

Vaccines

Ontario's vaccine recommendations changed last week.

Booster doses are recommended for higher-risk peopleafter six months, while people who aren't higher risk and have had a booster since September 2022 are told to wait for an update closer to autumn.

Twenty-threeper cent of Ottawans age five and older have had a COVID-19 vaccine dose within the last six months,with older age groups having higher vaccination rates. Thisdoes not factor inimmunity from getting COVID.

As of the most recent weekly update, 85per cent of Ottawa residents had at least one COVIDvaccine dose, 82per cent had at least two, 56per cent at least three and 31 per cent at least four.

Across the region

Spread

TheEastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU)'sCOVID-19 risk levelremains moderate.

Coronavirus wastewater averages areslowly rising in Kingston.They'reotherwise out of date or unavailable outside of Ottawa.

Renfrew County's average COVID test positivity rate is stable around six per cent.

Hospitalizations and deaths

Eastern Ontario communities outsideOttawa reportabout 15COVID-19 hospitalizations, withtwo patients in intensive care.

That regional countdoesn'tincludeHastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health,whichshares a weekly average of itslocal hospitalization count. Thatdrops toaround eight patients.

Western Quebec has 40 hospital patients with COVID. None of them arein intensive care.

Thatprovince has changed itsdatabase and criteria forCOVID deaths. Quebecnow only reports a death when COVID is an underlying cause.

The Outaouais now has 472 total COVID deaths, 26 of them this year, including one from the previous week.

Vaccines

The Kingston area's health unit says 19per cent of its population age five and up have had a COVID vaccine in the last six months. Itdrops to 21per cent in HPE and remains unavailable elsewhere.

Across eastern Ontario, between 79 and90 per cent of residents age five and up have received at least two COVID-19 vaccine doses, and between 52 and65 per cent of those residentshave hadat leastthree, according to the province.