What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Monday, Aug. 31
Key updates on the coronavirus pandemic in the region
Recent developments:
- Ottawa added 21 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 Monday.
- Ontario's largest teachers' unions say they're filing a labour complaint over back-to-school plans.
- The federal government has reached another deal for tens of millions of doses of a potential vaccine.
- Small business owners now have until the end of October to apply for a special federal loan.
What's the latest?
Ottawa added 21 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, including 13 people under the age of 30 and five under the age of 10.
Ontario's four main teachers' unions say the province's back-to-school plans don't follow the Occupational Health and Safety Act, so they're filing an official complaint.
The federal government has announced another deal for a potential COVID-19 vaccine, and has extended the CEBA small business and non-profit loan program until the end of October.
What's the latest on schools?
The Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est is delaying the start of the school year for some high school students and those who will be learning remotely until Sept. 8. Other students return Thursday.
The Ottawa-Carleton District School Board has delayed the start of classes until Sept. 8. Trustees voted to make masks mandatory indoors for students grades 4 and up, while its say they're still waiting for information on classwork.
The Ottawa Catholic School Board (OCSB) has also delayed the return to school, staggering it between Thursday and Sept. 15 depending on grade. Its starting date for online learning remains unchanged.
In a letter to parents, the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) said once the school year starts it "may not be possible" now for students to switch between classroom and online learning because of high demand.
The board has implemented a staggered start over three days starting Sept. 11.
In western Quebec, the des Draveurs, Hauts-Bois-de-l'Outaouais and Cœur-des-Vallées school boards resume classes today. Its fourth French school board, Portages-de-l'Outaouais, starts tomorrow.
There was a mix of emotions at English schools in western Quebec as students returned on Friday.
How many cases are there?
There have been 2,967 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa since the start of the pandemic: 218 known active cases, 2,483 cases considered resolved and a total of 266 deaths related to the illness.
Overall, public health officials have reported more than 4,500 cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with more than 3,800 resolved.
COVID-19 has killed 102 people in the region outside Ottawa: 52 people have died in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties, 33 in the Outaouais and 17 in other parts of eastern Ontario.
What's open and closed?
Ottawa is in Stage 3 of Ontario's reopening plan, which means more businesses are open including dine-in restaurants and movie theatres.
Indoor gatherings of up to 50 people and outdoor gatherings of up to 100 are now allowed in that province but attendees must follow physical distancing guidelines.
The Canadian Museum of Nature reopens five days a week starting on Saturday. Visitors need to book a time in advance and print or screengrab a floor plan.
Quebec has similar reopening rules, with its cap on physically distanced gatherings in public venues now up to 250 people, allowing smaller festivals.
Distancing and isolating
The novel coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes on another person or object. 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.
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 one.
Masks are also recommended outdoors when you can't stay the proper distance from others.
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Anyone who has travelled recently outside Canada must self-isolate for at least 14 days. In Ontario, that's the same period of isolation for anyone with symptoms.
Most people with a confirmed COVID-19 case in Quebec can end their self-isolation after 10 days if they have not had a fever for at least 48 hours and has had no other symptom for at least 24 hours.
Ontario's Chief Medical Officer of Health strongly urges self-isolation for people with weakened immune systems and 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. 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 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.
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.
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In Kingston, the Leon's Centre is 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.
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 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.
It's testing in five communities this week with an appointment.
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 by appointment in communities such as Gracefield, Val-des-Monts and Fort-Coulonge.
They can call 1-877-644-4545 to make an appointment or if they have other questions.
As of mid-August, there were longer wait times for test results here compared to some other regions of Quebec.
First Nations:
Local communities have declared states of emergency, put in a curfew or both.
Akwesasne has had 14 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Most are 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 160 kilometres away — or visited Montreal — for non-essential reasons is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
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 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.
