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What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, Oct. 11

What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, Oct. 11

Recent developments:

  • Ottawa is reporting 54 new cases of COVID-19 but no new deaths on Sunday, according to Ottawa Public Health.

  • The federal government is sending the Red Cross to help in seven Ottawa long-term care homes.

What's the latest?

Ottawa is reporting 54 new cases of COVID-19 but no new deaths on Sunday, according to Ottawa Public Health. Ontario also saw a drop in the number of newly confirmed cases compared to recent days.

Federal Public Safety Minister Bill Blair says the federal government has approved a request to have the Canadian Red Cross help "assess and stabilize the situation" in seven long-term care facilities in Ottawa.

CBC News previously reported that the disaster agency could provide logistical support, help isolate infected individuals, provide assistance with feeding and caring for the sick and offer psychological aid.

COVID-19 restrictions are now roughly the same on both sides of the Ottawa River as parts of the Outaouais are now under red alert COVID-19 status — the highest level possible in the province of Quebec.

Christian Dubé, Quebec's health minister, said yesterday the alert level was raised from orange to red to synchronize restrictions across Ottawa-Gatineau and discourage travel between the two provinces.

Police in the MRC des Collines-de-l'Outaouais are advising the public to avoid visiting Gatineau Park, saying that "going to see the leaves" does not qualify as essential travel and is therefore not recommended.

OC Transpo's special constables will start fining people for not wearing masks on buses, trains and at stations starting Tuesday, a shift from its original plan to just issue written warnings.

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How many cases are there?

As of Ottawa Public Health (OPH)'s Saturday update, there have been 5,373 Ottawa residents who've tested positive for COVID-19.

That includes 847 known active cases, 4,229 resolved cases and 297 deaths.

Overall, public health officials have reported more than 7,900 cases of COVID-19 across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with nearly 6,300 of those cases considered resolved.

COVID-19 has killed 104 people in the region outside Ottawa: 52 people have died in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties, 34 in the Outaouais and 18 in other parts of eastern Ontario.

What can I do?

Ontario is telling people to limit close contact only to those they live with or one other home if people live alone.

In general, occasionally seeing a small number of other people at a time they don't live with outdoors and more than two metres apart carries a lower risk of transmission.

In Ottawa, the second wave is being driven by people ignoring health rules.

Ottawa's medical officer of health has said the entire health-care system is on the verge of collapse and is advising people to celebrate Thanksgiving only with members of their immediate household.

Other eastern Ontario health units with different COVID-19 situations may have slightly different Thanksgiving advice.

Ottawans are also being told not to have a Halloween party and consider alternatives to trick-or-treating and usual late-December gathering plans.

Jonathan Dupaul/Radio-Canada
Jonathan Dupaul/Radio-Canada

Western Quebec's health authority says residents need to stop seeing all people they don't live with, even outdoors, until the end of October.

Gatineau and parts of the Outaouais are now on red alert, which means — just like in Ottawa — restaurants and bars can't serve people indoors, while organized sports are suspended and theatres and performance halls must close.

Quebecers are also urged not to travel to other regions.

What about schools?

There have been more than 160 schools in the wider Ottawa-Gatineau region with a confirmed case of COVID-19:

Few have had outbreaks, which are declared by a health unit in Ontario when there's a reasonable chance someone who has tested positive caught COVID-19 during a school activity.

Ontario updated its COVID-19 school symptom rules last week.

Distancing and isolating

The novel coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes or speaks onto someone or something.

People can be contagious without symptoms.

This means people should take precautions like staying home when sick, keeping hands and frequently touched surfaces clean, socializing outdoors as much as possible and maintaining distance from anyone you don't live with — even when you have a mask on.

Masks are mandatory in indoor public settings in Ontario and Quebec and recommended outdoors when people can't stay the proper distance from others.

Ottawa will start fining people who don't wear a mask on OC Transpo without a valid reason on Oct. 22.

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Anyone with symptoms should self-isolate, so should anyone told to by a public health unit. If Ottawans don't, they face a fine of up to $5,000 per day in court.

Kingston's medical officer of health said people living with someone waiting for a test result now do not need to self-isolate and someone with COVID-19 now has to isolate for at least 10 days from the day they first experience symptoms.

Most people with a confirmed COVID-19 case in Quebec can end their self-isolation after 10 days under certain conditions.

Health Canada recommends older adults and people with underlying medical conditions and/or weakened immune systems stay home as much as possible.

Anyone who has travelled recently outside Canada must go straight home and stay there for 14 days.

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 cough, vomiting and the loss of taste or smell.

Less common symptoms include chills, headaches and pink eye. Children can develop a rash.

Getting tested any sooner than five days after potential exposure may not be useful since the virus may not yet be detectable, says OPH.

If you have severe symptoms, call 911.

Mental health can also be affected by the pandemic and resources are available to help.

Francis Ferland/CBC
Francis Ferland/CBC

Where to get tested

In eastern Ontario:

Ontario recommends only getting tested if you have symptoms, or if you've been told to by your health unit or the province.

Anyone seeking a test should now book an appointment. Different sites in the area have different ways to book, including over the phone or going in person to get a time slot.

People without symptoms, but who are part of the province's targeted testing strategy, can make an appointment at select Ottawa pharmacies.

Most of Ottawa's testing happens at four permanent sites, with additional mobile sites wherever demand is particularly high.

There is limited walk-up capacity and telephone booking for some sites for people without internet access and priority groups such as health-care workers.

Its Coventry Road clinic will be closed on Monday.

Jean Delisle/CBC
Jean Delisle/CBC

In the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, the Limoges drive-thru centre is now taking appointments.

The health unit also has sites in Alexandria, Cornwall, Hawkesbury, Rockland and Winchester. All are closed on Monday.

In Kingston, the test site is at the Beechgrove Complex and online booking isn't available yet. For now, people are asked to go to the complex to make an appointment.

Napanee's test centre is open daily for people who call ahead.

People can arrange a test in Bancroft and Picton by calling the centre or Belleville and Trenton online.

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark health unit has permanent sites in Almonte, Brockville, Kemptville and Smiths Falls.

Renfrew County residents should call their family doctor or 1-844-727-6404 for a test or with COVID-19-related or not. Test clinic locations are posted weekly.

In western Quebec:

Outaouais residents can make an appointment in Gatineau seven days a week at 135 blvd. Saint-Raymond or 617 avenue Buckingham.

They can now check the approximate wait time for the Saint-Raymond site.

There are recurring clinics by appointment in communities such as Gracefield, Val-des-Monts and Fort-Coulonge.

Call 1-877-644-4545 with questions, including if walk-in testing is available nearby.

Tests are strongly recommended for people with symptoms or who have been in contact with someone with symptoms. People without symptoms can also get a test.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis:

Akwesasne 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.

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.

People in Pikwakanagan can book a COVID-19 test by calling 613-625-2259.

Anyone in Tyendinaga who's interested in a test can call 613-967-3603.

For more information