COVID, flu, RSV levels stay high during busy gathering time

Recent developments:

• Ottawa's COVID-19 numbersare generally stable and very high.
• Its flu and RSV activity ishigh.
• Ten more COVID deaths have been reported locally.

The latest

The prevalence of respiratory illness has remained high in recent days as the holiday season arrives.

According to the latest numbers, COVIDrates in Ottawaremain generally stable, but very high.Flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) activity is also high.

Ottawa Public Health (OPH)saysthe city's health-care institutions remainat high risk from respiratory illnesses, as they havebeen since the start ofSeptember and are expected to remainuntil at least March.

Expertsrecommendpeople cover coughs,wear masks inside,in crowded places and around high-riskpeople, keephands and often-touched surfaces clean, stay home when sick andkeepup with COVID and flu vaccinesto help protect themselves andother vulnerable people especially during one of the busiest social times of the year.

Wastewater

As of Dec. 14,the average coronavirus wastewater level had been stable for about a week after the latest peak. It's generally been rising for about five months.

OPH considers this level to be very high.

Hospitals

In the past week, the average number of Ottawa residentsin local hospitals for COVID-19is a stable 73. It has generallybeen in and around the 70s since early November.

Aseparate, wider count which includespatientswho testedpositive for COVIDafter being admitted for other reasons, wereadmitted for lingering COVIDcomplications or were transferred from other health unitsis stable.

There were68 new patients in the previous week. OPH seesthis as a very highnumber.

Tests, outbreaks and deaths

Ottawa's weekly average test positivity rate is about 16 per cent. It had been around20 per cent for the previousmonth, which was seen as very high.

There are a stable33 active COVID outbreaks, including about half inretirement homes. There is a very highnumber of new outbreaks.

The health unit reported 251more COVID cases in the last weekand threemoreCOVIDdeaths with victims in their 40s, 70s and 80s.

Across the region

Spread and vaccination

The Kingston area's health unitsays its COVID and RSV trends are stable and mostly high at moderate to very highlevels, while flu trends are low to high and rising.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) says the current situation is a moderate risk for respiratory illness.COVID and flu benchmarks there are high, while other respiratory infections are moderate.

The average COVID test positivity in Renfrew County is a stable 25 per cent.

Hastings Prince Edward (HPE) Public Health says 18 per cent of its residents have had a COVID vaccine in the last six months.

Hospitalizations and deaths

The EOHU has 30COVID hospitalizations, up from 19 a week ago.

The Kingston area's health unit says it has 28 active COVID-19 patients in its hospitals, including anyone living in a different health unit. That is seenas very high and rising.

HPE, like Ottawa, gives a weekly COVID hospital average. That has risen slightly to 23, which isits highest average of the year.

Renfrew County's health unit reports a stable six COVID hospital patients.

Western Quebec has a stable 83 hospital patients who have tested positive forCOVID.

The province reported three more deaths in western Quebec in its weekly update, as did the health unit for Leeds, Grenville and Lanark (LGL) counties. The EOHU has reported one in the last week.

Data for LGL goes up to Dec. 10, when its trends were generally high.