First vaccine doses done at all retirement homes

In a memo to the mayor and council, emergency service general manager Anthony Di Monte and medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches said they would complete first-dose offers of COVID -19 vaccines to residents at all 82 retirement homes in the city by the end of Tuesday.

The completion was cited as an important milestone, but Di Monte and Etches reiterated that “it will be several months until COVID-19 vaccines are available to the general public (and) it is essential that we continue to practise public health measures.”

There were 25 new cases confirmed in Ottawa and no new deaths, according to Ottawa Public Health data released Tuesday afternoon.

There are 451 active cases in the city — a decrease of 26 cases in the previous 24 hours — and 21 patients in local hospitals, seven of them in intensive care.

One new outbreak was declared in a health-care setting, where there are now 22 facility-wide outbreaks, and one new outbreak was declared at a day care, involving two children and one staff member.

There are ongoing outbreaks at Franco-Cité secondary school, declared on Feb. 19 involving three students, and at St. Patrick's, declared on Feb. 16 involving two students.

There have now been 14,429 total cases in the city and 437 related deaths.

Ottawa has administered 46,559 total vaccine doses, according to the latest Ottawa Public Health data.

The city remains under orange (restrict) measures, but key indicators have inched toward the red (control) threshold.

Ottawa's weekly average rate of infection is 36.6 cases per 100,000 population. The rate must remain under 39.9 to remain in orange.

Ottawa's weekly test positivity average is 2.3 per cent, and must remain under 2.4 per cent.

The R(t) number — another key indicator, measuring the secondary cases generated by a single confirmed COVID-19 infection — must be between 1.0 and 1.1 to remain in orange.

Ottawa is currently near the Red-level threshold, with a 1.11 R(t) number over the past week.

City officials have confirmed infections among four staff, three clients, a staff member of a community partner and a security guard from Commissaries Security Guards at its Nicholas Street physical distancing centre, as well as the Tom Brown respite centre, according to a memo to council.

Positive cases were confirmed Tuesday, and include four city employees with community and social services working at the Nicholas Street and Dempsey physical distancing centres.

Those staff members had all previously worked from Feb. 17 to 22, according to a memo from Donna Gray, the city's general manager of community and social services.

OPH is scheduled to conduct surveillance testing this week at the Nicholas site and will confirm any additional surveillance testing requirements at the Dempsey site, a memo to the mayor and council, Di Monte and Etches said.