What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Monday, May 11
Key updates on the coronavirus pandemic in the region
Recent developments:
- Public health officials in Ottawa say the number of people recovering from COVID-19 continues to outpace the number of new infections — a positive trend.
- Ontario Premier Doug Ford is promising an update early next week on the plan for the province's schools and daycares.
- Elementary students returned to class in much of Quebec Monday, with a lot of new rules.
- Visit our Facebook page dedicated to feel-good local stories; today we look into why educators can't seem to stop lip-synching.
What's happening today?
The ban on non-essential travel into and through the Outaouais is now lifted everywhere except Gatineau.
Quebec elementary schools outside the Montreal area reopen today, but things will look a lot different — and classrooms in western Quebec will likely be far from full.
WATCH: What parents of kids going back to school are thinking
Retail stores in Ontario with a street entrance can now offer curbside pickup and delivery.
How many cases are there?
There have been 1,676 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and 171 deaths linked to the respiratory illness. There are more than 2,575 known cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
More than 1,700 people in the region have recovered from COVID-19.
The deaths of 43 people in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties, and 25 more in the wider region, have also been tied to the coronavirus.
Confirmed cases are just a snapshot because not everyone can be tested and results take time to process, though testing criteria are slowly being expanded.
What's open and closed?
Quebec now allows manufacturing businesses and commercial construction projects to start back up and Ontario has expanded what's considered essential construction.
Most of Ontario's provincial parks are now open for limited day use. The rest will open by the weekend.
Gatineau Park reopened for people within walking or biking distance on Saturday. National parks and Quebec provincial parks remain closed.
WATCH: How Gatineau Park restrictions work
Ontario schools will remain closed through May and Quebec high schools, CEGEPs and universities will stay closed to in-person classes until fall.
Ottawa has cancelled event permits and closed many facilities until July. Quebec has asked organizers to cancel events until September.
Distancing and isolating
The coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes, although people can be asymptomatic and still be contagious.
That means physical distancing measures remain in effect: people should avoid non-essential trips, work from home, cancel gatherings and stay at least two metres away from anyone they don't live with.
Anyone who has symptoms, travelled recently outside Canada or, specifically in Ottawa, is waiting for a COVID-19 test result must self-isolate for at least 14 days.
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.
People 70 and older or with compromised immune systems or underlying health conditions should also self-isolate.
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, fatigue and a dry cough.
Other potential symptoms include a sore throat, runny nose and the loss of taste or smell.
If you have severe symptoms, call 911.
WATCH: An update to a local pandemic wedding story last month
Where to get tested
Anyone concerned they have COVID-19 in Ontario can call Telehealth at 1-866-797-000 or fill out the province's online assessment tool.
In Ottawa people who fit the criteria can be tested at the Brewer Arena from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., seven days a week.
Those with mild or moderate symptoms can visit clinics in Bells Corners or Alta Vista weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The public health unit in the Belleville area is asking people to call 613-966-5500 or one of its testing centres in Belleville, Trenton or Bancroft if they have symptoms. You may also qualify for a home test.
For local residents and employees who work in the Eastern Ontario Health Unit area, there is a drive-thru test centre in Casselman and assessment centres in Hawkesbury and Winchester that don't require people to call ahead, and others in Rockland, and Cornwall that require an appointment.
In Kingston, the assessment centre at the Kingston Memorial Centre is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for anyone with symptoms.
The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark unit asks you to call it if you have symptoms at 1-800-660-5853, ext. 2499.
It has testing sites open in Almonte and Smiths Falls which require a referral, as well as a walk-in site in Brockville at the Memorial Centre and a home test service for people in care or with mobility challenges.
Renfrew County is also providing home testing under some circumstances. Residents without a family doctor can call 1-844-727-6404 if they have health questions.
In western Quebec:
Outaouais residents should call 819-644-4545 if they have a cough or fever. They could end up being referred to Gatineau's testing centre.
First Nations communities
Local communities have declared states of emergency, put in a curfew or both.
Akwesasne has opened a mobile COVID-19 test site available by appointment only. Anyone returning to Akwesasne who's been farther than 80 kilometres away is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
Anyone in Tyendinaga who has symptoms can call 613-967-3603 to talk to a nurse.
Pikwakanagan's new council has ordered all businesses to close and has cancelled its August powwow.
Kitigan Zibi has postponed its June election and is keeping schools closed through the summer.
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.
