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NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES IN OTTAWA AND ONTARIO
Four days out from its move into the next stage of reopening, Ontario reported 114 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday.
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The seven-day average for daily cases across the province is now 184 – down from 223 one week ago.
In terms of active cases, the hardest-hit regions are Waterloo (49 active cases per 100,000 people), Grey Bruce (44 per 100,000), Porcupine (25), Peterborough (22) and Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph (20). Ottawa, comparatively, has four active cases per 100,000, according to provincial reporting.
Aside from one new case logged in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington, the case totals for all health unit regions in eastern Ontario were unchanged in the last day.
No new cases of COVID-19 were reported by Ottawa Public Health Monday, an exhilarating pandemic milestone and one not seen since July 6, 2020. Worth noting, though, is that the number of new cases published daily by OPH simply reflects any day-over-day change in the total number of confirmed cases among Ottawa residents, and can reflect older cases being added or removed (if for instance, a case is found to reside outside of Ottawa), not just newly identified cases.
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Over the latest seven-day period (July 4 to 10), a total of 32 new cases were reported to OPH. That makes for a weekly COVID-19 incidence rate of three per 100,000 — well under the threshold for the green zone under the province’s old colour-coded COVID-19 response framework, which was associated with a weekly incidence rate of less than 10 per 100,000.
No additional deaths were logged in the previous 24 hours.
There are two Ottawans currently hospitalized with COVID-19, none in ICU, 35 active cases across the city, and two ongoing outbreaks — one involving four resident cases at a shelter, and one involving two resident cases at a group home.
According to the latest OPH data, 81 per cent of Ottawa’s adult population has at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 57 per cent is fully vaccinated.
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No additional COVID-19 deaths were logged provincially, while the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 in hospital intensive care units sits at 155, down from 170 a week ago. The latest ICU figure rises to 204, if you include those no longer testing positive.
More than 79 per cent of Ontario adults have at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while just over 56 per cent are fully vaccinated, according to provincial reporting Monday morning.
The Ontario government is moving the entire province into “Step 3” of its phased reopening plan on Friday, a decision justified by continued improvement in the COVID situation in Ontario, and the level of vaccine protection.
Step 3 means the return of indoor dining and fitness facilities; museums, movies theatres and other indoor venues with capacity limits; permission for larger social gatherings indoors, and more.
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Physical distancing will remain part of the pandemic rules under Step 3, as will masking for indoor public settings and some outdoor ones, too.
THE LATEST COVID-19 NEWS IN CANADA
Canada is expecting vaccine shipments to keep rolling in this week as the country inches closer to matching the percentage of people in the United States fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
The federal government expects another 1.4 million doses of the shot from Pfizer-BioNTech to arrive in the next seven days.
It also plans to distribute the 1.5 million doses from Moderna that came in last Friday.
By the end of the week, Canadian officials expect to have received a total of more than 55 million doses including the latest shipments, though those figures may change.
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The federal government has promised that it would reach 68 million shots delivered by the end of July and says it’s still on track to hit that target.
To date, around 42.7 per cent of eligible Canadian residents have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, giving them full protection against the virus.
The figures come courtesy of COVID-19 Tracker, a volunteer-run project that relies on data from provincial and territorial governments.
The U.S.’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data tracker lists 48 per cent of that country’s population as being fully immunized.
Meanwhile, the federal government is donating 17.7 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine and is asking Canadians to give their own money to help other countries get needles into arms.
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Procurement Minister Anita Anand says after talking to provinces, these COVID-19 doses were determined to be excess supply, as demand for this vaccine had been met.
She says the AstraZeneca doses to be donated were supposed to flow into Canada through an advanced purchase agreement and be produced in the United States.
Anand says the shots will be made available to lower-income countries through the global-vaccine sharing alliance COVAX. The timing is still being worked out.
By the end of September, 44 million doses of Moderna and 51 million shots from Pfizer-BioNTech are expected to have arrived in Canada, according to Anand.
With a population of nearly 38 million people, Canada would need about 76 million shots of two-dose vaccines to make sure everyone is fully vaccinated.
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Asked Monday about why the federal government hasn’t marked any of its Moderna or Pfizer deliveries for donation given its volume of supply, Anand said these shots are still in high demand in Canada and things could stay that way.
“We are still watching the science evolve in this area in terms of the potential need for an additional third shot or boosters, and so we are making sure that we have the supply on hand of these vaccines to be able to serve the needs of Canadians in the short and the long term,” she said.
“Any decision on the donation of doses needs to be made by the Public Health of Agency in co-ordination with the provinces and territories.”
It’s unclear when, or whether, Canadians will need to get a third dose of vaccine.
Pfizer said recently it has seen a bit of a dip in antibodies in Israel six months after vaccination and intends to ask the U.S. and Europe to approve giving a booster shot.
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A Pfizer Canada spokeswoman said it’s too early to comment on whether the company will ask the same of Canada.
Very few people in this country would hit six months fully vaccinated until closer to the end of the year.
Health Canada and the federal public health agency issued a joint statement last Friday saying the duration of protection from COVID-19 vaccines is still being studied but current data “shows good immunity in most people out to 9 months after receiving 2 vaccine doses.”
The statement said the issue of needing boosters is top of mind for both organizations, and decisions will be based on scientific evidence. In April, Canada announced a deal to get 35 million booster shots from Pfizer in 2022, and another 30 million in 2023, in case they are needed.
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To keep up with its commitment to help vaccinate less wealthy nations, the Liberal government also announced Monday it would match donations Canadians make to a UNICEF fundraising campaign called “Give a Vax”, for a contribution of up to $10 million.
Meanwhile, a $500-million support fund for the tourism sector – profoundly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and its disruptions to travel – is now taking applications, the federal government announced Monday.
It’s something the federal government proposed creating in this year’s budget, and will be primarily administered by regional development agencies. Successful business applicants can secure non-repayable contributions up to $100,000, and non-repayable ones up to $500,000, while non-profits and Indigenous organizations can secure non-repayable contributions up to the latter amount. Those interested in applying can visit their regional development agency’s webpage.
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QUEBEC COVID-19 NEWS
Starting Monday, COVID-19 capacity limits no longer apply in retail stores in Quebec, and the standard for physical distancing is down to one metre from two, both indoors and out.
Two metres of physical distance between people will still be required in gyms and places of worship if people are talking or singing.
Quebec reported 52 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, while the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 fell to 88, a low not seen since March 2020. There were 25 COVID-19 patients in ICU across the province. No additional deaths were reported.
— With files from The Canadian Press
COVID-19 BY THE NUMBERS
Ontario
(reported Monday)
114: New confirmed cases
547,263: Total cases
0: New deaths
9,251: Total deaths
204: In ICU
123: On ventilators
79.2 per cent: Percentage of Ontario adults with at least one vaccine dose
56.1 per cent: Percentage of Ontario adults who are fully vaccinated
Ottawa
(reported Monday)
0: New confirmed cases
27,729: Total cases
0: New deaths
589: Total deaths
35: Active cases
2: In hospital
0: In ICU
81 per cent: Percentage of population 18 and older with at least one vaccine dose
57 per cent: Percentage of population 18 and older that is fully vaccinated
COVID-19: No new cases or deaths in Ottawa; Ontario reports 114 new cases - Ottawa Citizen
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