OTTAWA – The percentage of Ottawa residents testing positive for COVID-19 is down nearly three per cent over the last three weeks the city’s COVID-19 Testing Taskforce reports.

Yesterday (Feb. 1) the taskforce reported just 1.8 per cent of residents who were tested for COVID-19, between Jan. 25 and Jan. 31, saw positive results.

The positivity rate had shot up to 4.7 per cent by Jan. 8 and has been steadily falling since.

Back in early December, the local positivity rate was consistently around 1.3 per cent. That was after recovering from the fall’s second wave of local COVID-19 infections.

There were 1,700 lab tests performed in Ottawa last Sunday, (Jan. 31). The taskforce says 657 swabs were taken at assessment centres in Ottawa that day.  Local lab capacity remains at 8,360, daily.

According to the taskforce, test results, from the time the swab is taken to the result, are taking around 20 hours.

The City of Ottawa has received 25,350 COVID-19 vaccines to date, but there’s no word on when the next shipment is due.