Active COVID-19 cases in Ottawa above 5,600; hospitalizations down

Ottawa Public Health is reporting 653 more people in the city with COVID-19 and three fewer hospitalizations due to the virus.

To date, OPH has recorded 39,823 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the city since the pandemic began. 

The figures come with the caveat that changes in the availability of testing in many parts of the province mean case counts are an underestimate of the true number of individuals with COVID-19 in Ontario. Demand for testing has increased significantly with the arrival of the Omicron variant.

OPH is reporting a testing positivity rate of 22.5 per cent in Ottawa in the last week.

No new deaths from COVID-19 were reported in Ottawa on Wednesday. The pandemic's death toll in the city stands at 621 residents.