Outbreaks lower, but other key respiratory signs hardly budge

Recent developments:

• Ottawa's COVID-19 and RSV numbers remainlow to moderate.
• Some flu trends are still seen as very high.
• Fourteenmore COVID deaths have been reportedsome from 2022.

The latest

Theweekly respiratoryupdate from Ottawa Public Health (OPH)marches along a largely stable path:some very high flu trends, andlow-to-moderateCOVID-19 and RSV levels.

OPHsaysthe city's health-care institutions remainat high risk from respiratory illnesses, as they've been since the end of August. Thiswill be the case untilrespiratory trends are low again.

There are few new respiratory outbreaks across Ottawa's health-care settings for the first time since summer, OPH says. Other categories such as hospitalizations and test positivityaren't yet considered low.

Expertsrecommendpeople cover coughs,wear masks, keephands and often-touched surfaces clean, stay home when sick andkeepup with COVID and flu vaccinesto help protect themselves andvulnerable people.

COVID-19 in Ottawa

Ottawa'scoronavirus wastewater averagehad been stable for about a month as of March 10.

OPH saidthat level ismoderate.

The weekly average test positivity rate in the city is six per cent, which is low to OPH.

OPH considers the number of new COVID-related hospitalizations in the city 27 as moderate.

Theactive COVID outbreak count is seven, witha low number of new outbreaks.

There have been no more COVIDdeathsreported in the capital.OPH's next COVID vaccination updateis expected in early April.

Across the region

The Kingston areahealth unitis not ina high-risk respiratory time. Its trends are mostly stable.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) rates the overall respiratory risk as moderate and stable.

Hastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health's weekly COVIDhospital average drops to three.Its flu activityislow.

Renfrew County's trends are generally stable.

Western Quebechas a stable20hospital patients who have tested positive forCOVID. The province reported eight more COVID deaths there, seven of them from 2022.

The EOHU reports four more COVID deaths. There's been one more reportedin bothRenfrew County and the Kingston area.

Leeds, Grenville and Lanark(LGL) datagoes up to March 3, when its trends were stable or dropping.