novel coronavirus pandemic.Ottawa Public Health is reporting 148 new cases of COVID-19 locally and four new deaths related to the virus on Friday.The city has now seen 12,027 cases of the coronavirus and 402 deaths since the start of the pandemic.There are currently 1,261 active cases of the virus in Ottawa, according to OPH’s COVID-19 dashboard.The seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases per day is now down to 142 from 148 the day before.[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]The percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive in Ottawa dropped to 4.1 per cent in the past week from 4.5 per cent in the previous period.