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As Ottawa residents prepare for a microbial siege that’s expected to last weeks, maybe months, provincial statistics show the number of people infected with COVID-19 more than doubled in the city in a single day.

The provincial government issued new figures Sunday that show the number of people officially diagnosed with COVID-19 in Ottawa doubled to 10 active cases from five.

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The city’s medical officer of health, Dr. Vera Etches, warned the coronavirus can now be spread within the community, and she urged people to stay home. Hundreds of people could already be infected with COVID-19 in the city, she said, since the reported cases do not capture everyone who has spread the disease in recent weeks.

In another sign of the escalating crisis, Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott said late Sunday that the province has asked all hospitals to “ramp down” elective surgeries and non-emergency clinical activity in order to prepare for the COVID-19 pandemic.