Surge in new city cases on Sunday, but no new deaths

Eighty new confirmed cases of COVID -19 in Ottawa were reported on Sunday, a significant jump from the 53 new cases listed on Saturday.

There were no new deaths, Ottawa Public Health said.

Ottawa has reported 14,349 total confirmed cases and 436 deaths so far. Health-care workers account for 2,027, or 14.1 per cent, of all confirmed cases in Ottawa.

On Sunday, there were 22 in Ottawa hospitals, with four in ICU. Hospitalization rates did not change from Saturday.

Ontario reported 13 new deaths and 1,087 new confirmed cases of COVID -19 on Sunday. So far, there have been 6,861 deaths in the province and 293,086 confirmed cases.

The numbers reflect data filed with the province as of Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, Renfrew County's acting medical officer of health has issued a plea to Barry's Bay residents to observe public health guidelines. The town of about 1,300 people, only 12 per cent of Renfrew County's population, has accounted for more than a third of confirmed cases since the pandemic began.

Barry's Bay has had 27 confirmed cases since Jan. 1, while Renfrew County 's total tally so far has been 47, Dr. Robert Cushman said in a statement.

People who fail to observe the guidelines could be jeopardizing Renfrew County's status as a “green” zone, he said.

The Renfrew County and District Health Unit advocated to be allowed to move into the green category of reopening, alongside only two other regions in Ontario, Cushman said.

It was a testimony to the region's hard work to comply with public health guidelines since the Dec. 26 lockdown, he said.

But Barry's Bay has been an exception, and Cushman finds it worrisome. While there is no direct cause-and-effect link, the spread has been mostly within families, he said.

The area has been the source of frequent complaints from local merchants about customers who do not comply with the mask or face covering requirements, he said.

“We have also heard about anti-mask demonstrations and concerns about post-secondary students not complying.”

Quebec reported 666 new confirmed cases on Sunday, the fewest since late September. A total of 282,122 infections have now been confirmed in the province since the first in February 2020.

Quebec also announced 15 more deaths attributed to the virus, for a total of 10,307.