Ottawa is step closer to total lockdown

Ottawa Public Health reported 184 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Sunday as the province reported another single-day record, with 3,945 new infections over the past 24 hours.

Ontario reported 61 more deaths linked to the virus in the previous 24 hours. Two of those deaths were in Ottawa.

Ninety new cases, or about half of Sunday's new cases in Ottawa, occurred among people 29 and under, including 18 in children nine and under, 28 in 10-to-19-year-olds and 44 in people in their 20s.

Of those in hospital in Ottawa, one patient is under 19, two are in their 20s, three in their 50s and four in their 60s. There are nine patients in their 70s, five in their 80s and two in their 90s.

Four new institutional outbreaks were declared Sunday in long-term care settings, with new outbreaks at the Duke of Devonshire retirement home, Colonel By retirement home, Grace Manor and at a group home. There is one ongoing outbreak in a childcare setting at the Guardian Angels school.

“Ottawa we were doing so well,” Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod, the minister of heritage, sport, tourism and culture, said via Twitter on Sunday afternoon.

“We had just 19 cases Dec. 23. Had we kept it up we were heading to Yellow (`protect' zone). Today, however, even with new restrictions, Dr. Vera Etches is telling us we are moving to Grey (`lockdown'). … Our rate of infection after the provincewide shutdown is going the wrong way and fast.”

Health Minister Christine Elliott said there were 1,160 new cases of coronavirus in Toronto, 641 in Peel Region and 357 in York Region. There were 223 more cases in Windsor-Essex County and 220 in Waterloo. A total of 4,983 people have died from COVID-19 in Ontario and 215,782 have tested positive for the virus over the course of the pandemic.

Hospitalizations are increasing at a rate that is alarming public health experts. There were 26 new admissions in Ontario hospitals since the last reporting period. There are now 1,483 COVID-19 patients requiring hospital treatment, with 388 people in intensive care units across the province and 266 on ventilators.

More than 62,300 tests have been completed since the last provincial update on Saturday. A total of 397 people have now died from the virus in Ottawa as the city's active case count continues to spike.

There are now 1,202 active cases in the city. According to OPH data, 9,779 cases have been resolved. There are 26 patients in Ottawa hospitals, with nine in intensive care.

Ottawa's medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, tweeted out a stark warning Saturday afternoon that the city is approaching the “Grey Zone” of a total lockdown. There were 234 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Saturday's data.

“Ottawa's COVID-19 levels are dramatically higher since before holidays: 3X the rate of infection, highest yet — we are deep into the `Red' zone and approaching `Grey' territory; 3X the per cent of tests coming back positive; 2.5X the hospitalizations; wastewater levels increasing,” Etches tweeted.

“If we do not reduce the number of close contacts that enable COVID-19 transmission, our hospitals will not be able to maintain services, and the number of deaths will increase. This is a collective task, one where we need to support not blame each other through this darkest time.”

Grey is the highest tier of the province's colour-coded COVID-19 response framework and involves a full lockdown, versus the “control” measures in Red zones.

Ontario reported 3,443 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday.

With Ontario students in virtual schooling from home until Jan. 25, Donna Gray, general manager, community and social services, outlined Ottawa's targeted emergency childcare program for school-aged children.

The program has been operating since Jan. 4 and will continue at no cost to eligible families, Gray said in a memo to council, based on the Ministry of Education-approved eligible worker list, for those who are not able to support their child at home for the duration of the closure.

The city is awaiting further details from the province on expanding eligibility to include other front-line workers, Gray said.