The health authorities in Ottawa have once again called for people to refrain from moving around during the Thanksgiving holiday due to the potential spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The cold and flu season has also begun. OPH recommends staying home when sick, gathering outdoors is better, considering wearing masks indoors and in crowded outdoor places, and getting additional protection from the COVID vaccine, including the updated bivalent booster available for adults.

While COVID-19 vaccines and previous infections provide some protection, subvariants continue to emerge. The weekly average level of coronavirus in Ottawa’s wastewater has been high and stable for about two weeks, with an increase earlier this week to a level not seen since early August.

As of October 4, the average was about 13 times higher than it was at this time last year. Twenty Ottawa residents were admitted to the city hospital with COVID-19, according to the latest OPH update. This number was slowly rising, although it represents a significant drop from a single update of 35 reported on Tuesday.

There are three stable patients in intensive care. The above hospitalization numbers do not include all patients. For example, they leave out patients admitted for other reasons who later tested positive for COVID-19, those admitted due to ongoing COVID-19 complications, and those transferred from other health units. When including these types of patients, the number has decreased. Testing strategies changed under the Omicron variant, meaning many COVID-19 cases are not reflected in current numbers.

Public health officials are now only tracking and reporting outbreaks in healthcare settings. Ottawa’s test positivity rate has now risen for more than three weeks and currently stands at 17 percent. OPH considers this level to be high. There are currently 54 active COVID outbreaks in Ottawa. This is moderate, according to OPH, and relatively stable.

The World Health Organization reported 319 additional cases over three days and three more deaths: two individuals aged 90 or older had COVID, and one was in their sixties. Vaccinations as of the last weekly update show that 93 percent of Ottawa residents aged five and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, 90 percent have received at least two doses, and 61 percent at least three. Twenty-four percent of Ottawa residents aged 12 and older have at least four doses.

Children aged 12 to 17 are eligible only if they are significantly immunocompromised. Life Health Canada approved the new bivalent COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer. About 7,800 residents under the age of five received a first dose, representing about 17 percent of Ottawa residents in that age group. As of the last update, wastewater levels were stable in Kingston.

Data from other regions is old or unavailable. Renfrew County’s test positivity rate slightly decreased to 11 percent. Dr. Paul Romeliotis from the Eastern Ontario Health Unit said the situation there is stable. The West Quebec Health Authority, CISSSO, reported stability in 84 hospital admissions due to coronavirus, one of them in intensive care.

They reported a total of 348 COVID deaths in their weekly update, and Renfrew County reported the 66th death. Eastern Ontario communities outside Ottawa reported an increase in hospitalizations to around 55 cases, 10 of them in intensive care. Edited by: Yusra Bamtraf