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COVID-19: Six new deaths in Ottawa Public Health update; bivalent booster 'adding to your immune level'

In this file photo, a medical worker prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster.
In this file photo, a medical worker prepares the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine booster. Photo by JOSEPH PREZIOSO /AFP via Getty Images

Ottawa

(Reported Tuesday, last update Sept. 27)

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6: New deaths

897: Total deaths

35: Ottawa residents in hospital due to an active infection

4: In ICU because of active infection

120: Confirmed COVID-19 patients in Ottawa hospitals as of Sunday, 50 in hospital because of COVID-19 (6 in ICU) and 70 for other reasons (2 in ICU)

509: New COVID-19 cases (case numbers are underestimates with testing limited to certain groups)

82,818: Total cases

46: Ongoing outbreaks in institutional settings

15.8: Per cent test positivity in the community (seven-day average as of Sunday)

The current public health situation

COVID-19 is ticking up again and the country is barely into fall.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise, said McGill University genomic evolutionary biologist Jesse Shapiro, even without all the alphanumeric subvariants, new and old, scientists are watching.

“Even just based on waning immunity, the time since the average person had their last infection or their last booster, a wave was expected,” Shapiro said.

In most provinces, immunity isn’t as high as it could be, which is why Canada’s public health agency is appealing to people to get “up to date” with their vaccines as new bivalent shots targeting the original SARS-CoV-2 strain and BA.1 strain of Omicron are being rolled out.

Public Health Ontario reported Friday that it’s seeing a gradual increase in cases and the number of tests coming back positive, when looking back over the past two weeks.

Ottawa is already in a “new wave” of COVID-19, local public health officials said last week.

How to get vaccinated

“The bivalent booster gives you even more diversity in the way you’re going to be able to fight COVID viruses, it’s adding to your immune level,” Medical Officer of Health Dr. Vera Etches said in a tweet from Ottawa Public Health Monday.

Book vaccination appointments through Ontario’s COVID-19 vaccination portal or by calling the Provincial Vaccine Contact Centre at 1-833-943-3900 or through participating pharmacies.

OPH encourages people to make appointments because drop-in availability will be limited at community clinics.

How to get tested and treated for COVID-19

Antiviral treatments are available for people with symptoms — even if they’re mild — who are at higher risk of severe COVID-19, but they must be taken within the first five days of symptoms starting.

People can use the Ontario COVID-19 antiviral treatment screener to see if they’re at higher risk of severe illness and might benefit from the medication.

With lab testing in the province prioritized for people at increased risk and in high-risk settings. Ottawans can find out more about eligibility, how to book tests and seek treatment on the Ottawa Public Health website, along with self-isolation instructions.

Where to get rapid tests

Ontario is distributing free rapid antigen tests through participating pharmacy and grocery store locations.