What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Monday, Aug. 3
CBC | Posted: August 3, 2020 8:00 AM | Last Updated: August 3, 2020
Key updates on the coronavirus pandemic in the region
Recent developments:
- Ottawa Public Health reported four new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, breaking the recent trend of double-digit daily case totals stretching back more than two weeks.
- The Heron Road care clinic, one of the city's COVID-19 testing sites, is closed Monday.
What's the latest?
Ottawa has four new confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to numbers published by Ottawa Public Health on Monday.
The last time Ottawa Public Health reported numbers in the single digits was on July 17, when there were seven new cases.
The care clinic on Moodie Drive and the centre at the Brewer Arena are open Monday from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for people seeking a COVID-19 test. The clinic on Heron Road is closed.
How many cases are there?
There have been 2,559 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa since the pandemic began. The number of deaths is at 264, with the first in more than a month announced Tuesday. The person who died was in their 40s.
The majority of cases in the city — 2,083 — are classified as resolved.
In all, public health officials have reported more than 3,950 cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, and more than 3,300 cases are resolved.
COVID-19 has killed 102 people in the region outside Ottawa: 52 in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties, 17 in other parts of eastern Ontario and 33 in the Outaouais.
What's open and closed?
Ottawa is now in Stage 3 of Ontario's reopening plan, which means many more businesses are allowed to reopen, including dine-in restaurants and movie theatres.
Quebec has similar rules, with its distanced gathering cap going up to 250 people in public venues next week.
More national museums are opening to the public. The Canada Agriculture and Food Museum opened Saturday.
Elementary students in Ontario will be heading back to school full time come September, while most high school students will split their time between the classroom and online learning.
Quebec's back-to-school plans will bring students to classrooms again this fall.
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Distancing and isolating
The coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. People don't need to have symptoms to be contagious.
That means physical distancing measures such as working from home, meeting others outdoors as much as possible and keeping distance from anyone they don't live with or have in their circle, including when you have a mask on.
Indoor gatherings of up to 50 people and outdoor gatherings of up to 100 are now allowed in Ontario. People should still keep their distance from people not in their circle.
Masks are now mandatory in indoor public settings in all of eastern Ontario and Quebec, where transit officials and taxi drivers are now required to bar access to users over age 12 who refuse to wear a mask.
Masks are recommended outdoors when you can't stay the proper distance from others.
Ottawa's medical officer of health said in mid-July people should be ready for COVID-19 social restrictions well into 2021 or 2022.
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Anyone who has symptoms or travelled recently outside Canada must self-isolate for at least 14 days.
Specifically in Ottawa, anyone waiting for a COVID-19 test result must self-isolate at least until they know the result.
The same goes for anyone in Ontario who's been in contact with someone who's tested positive or is presumed to have COVID-19.
Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health strongly urges self-isolation for people with weakened immune systems and Ottawa Public Health (OPH) recommends people over 70 stay home as much as possible.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
COVID-19 can range from a cold-like illness to a severe lung infection, with common symptoms including fever, a dry cough, vomiting and the loss of taste or smell.
Less common symptoms include chills, headaches and pinkeye. The Ontario government says in rare cases, children can develop a rash.
If you have severe symptoms, call 911.
Where to get tested
In eastern Ontario:
In Ottawa any resident who feels they need a test, even if they are not showing symptoms, can now be tested at one of three sites.
Inuit in Ottawa can call the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team at 613-740-0999 for service, including testing, in Inuktitut or English on weekdays.
Testing has also expanded for local residents and employees who work in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit area.
There is a drive-thru centre in Casselman that can handle 200 tests a day and assessment centres in Hawkesbury and Winchester that don't require people to call ahead.
Others in Alexandria, Rockland and Cornwall require an appointment.
In Kingston, the Leon's Centre is now hosting the city's test site. Find it at Gate 2.
Napanee's test centre is open daily for people who call for an appointment.
The public health unit in the Belleville area is asking people to call it, their family doctor or Telehealth if they have symptoms or questions.
You can arrange a test in Bancroft, Belleville or Trenton by calling the centre and in Picton by texting or calling.
The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark unit asks you to get tested if you have a symptom or concerns about exposure.
It has a walk-in site in Brockville at the Memorial Centre and testing sites in Smiths Falls and Almonte which require an appointment.
Renfrew County is providing pop-up testing in five communities this week and home testing under some circumstances.
Residents should call their family doctor and those without access to a family doctor can call 1-844-727-6404 to register for a test or if they have health questions, COVID-19-related or not.
In western Quebec:
Outaouais residents now can get a walk-in test in Gatineau five days a week at 135 blvd. Saint-Raymond and at recurring clinics in communities such as Maniwaki, Val-des-Monts and Fort-Coulonge.
The clinic is closed Monday.
They can call 1-877-644-4545 if they have other questions or to make an appointment.
First Nations:
Local communities have declared states of emergency, put in a curfew or both.
Akwesasne has had 14 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Ten of them are active as of Monday, most linked back to a gathering on an island with a non-resident who wasn't showing symptoms at the time.
It has a mobile COVID-19 test site available by appointment only. Anyone returning to the community on the Canadian side of the international border who's been farther than 80 kilometres away is asked to self-isolate for 14 days. It's 100 miles or 160 kilometres away on the American side.
Anyone in Tyendinaga who's interested in a test can call 613-967-3603 to talk to a nurse. Face coverings are now mandatory in its public buildings.
People in Pikwakanagan can book an appointment for a COVID-19 test by calling 613-625-2259.
Kitigan Zibi is planning for an Aug. 29 election with changes depending on the status of the pandemic at that time. It plans on starting to open schools and daycares next month.
For more information
- Ottawa Public Health.
- Your local eastern Ontario health unit.
- The Ontario Ministry of Health (in several languages).
- The Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais.
- The Public Health Agency of Canada.