Key COVID-19 numbers in the Ottawa area today

• Ottawa's COVID-19 hospitalizations and viral wastewater signal both rise.
• Two recent COVID-19 deaths are reported.

Today's Ottawa update

There are currently 51 Ottawa residents in local hospitals for treatment of active COVID-19, according to Ottawa Public Health (OPH).

That's eight more than on Friday. This number has been rising for about two weeks.

Seven people with COVID-19 are in an ICU, a figure that's been more stable. Those patients range in age from their 40s to 80s.

These hospital numbers do not include people who came to the hospital for other reasons and then test positive for COVID-19. They also don't cover people with lingering COVID-19 problems, or patients transferred from other health units.

Hospitals are challenged by rising case numbers because staffing shortages lower their capacity.

WATCH | What these hospital numbers do and don't show:

Why hospital numbers and public health numbers often don’t match when it comes to COVID-19 patients

6 months ago

Duration 0:55

Dr. Gerald Evans, an infectious disease specialist at Queen’s University, says hospitals may count every patient in the institution who tests positive for the illness regardless of their place of residence, while public health units only include their own residents.

The levels of coronavirus in Ottawa's wastewater, which don't rely on testing, have been rising for nearly a month.

The case count has surged to record levels in many places this winter — and as the Omicron variant's spread overwhelms and limits testing, the actual number of cases in Ottawa could be three to 10 times higher, Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches said Tuesday.

Of the people who are getting tested, 41.36 per cent are positive as of Thursday. That number has been generally rising since the end of November.

On Saturday, OPH confirmed 415 more COVID-19 cases and reported two recent COVID-19 deaths, both people older than age 70.

The rolling seven-day average of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases expressed per 100,000 residents is above 500 despite limited testing capacity.

Vaccines

896,747: The number of Ottawa residents born in 2016 or earlier with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, about 1,150 more than the last update on Wednesday. That's 90 per cent of the eligible population.

826,007: The number of Ottawa residents born in 2016 or earlier with at least two doses, about 1,400 more than Wednesday and 83 per cent of the eligible population.

379,254: The number of Ottawa residents with a third dose, more than 31,000 since Wednesday. That's 38 per cent of residents age five and up — though eligibility is extremely limited for children under 18.

49,250: The number of children in Ottawa age five and up who have received their first dose of the pediatric COVID-19 vaccine, 63 per cent of that age group. About 4,000 have two doses.

Across the region

The wider region, western Quebec included, is reporting 199 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 30 ICU patients as of Saturday.

The Outaouais reported 808 more cases and 17 more hospitalizations on Saturday, mostly in Gatineau, Que.

Hastings Prince Edward reported one more COVID-19 patient in local hospitals on Friday, for a total of 20. That includes four in intensive care.

Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties reported two more COVID-19 deaths and 17 local COVID hospitalizations on Friday, four more than on Thursday. Four of them are in intensive care.