What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 2

Recent developments:

• Ottawa reports zero local patients with active COVID-19 in the ICU.

Ottawa Public Health reports zero local patients with active COVID-19 in a hospital ICU, along with a plateau in its wastewater signal.

Ontario businesses can keep asking customers for proof of COVID-19 vaccination even though the province no longer demands it, but could face challenges doing so, constitutional law experts say.

After the Treasury Board gave the green light for federal departments to start back-to-office planning, major public servant unions say they hope some work-from-home flexibility remains.

City of Ottawa staff want a mail-in voting option for October's municipal election, saying COVID could still affect the ability to get to polls. It would cost about $650,000 if approved by council.

Numbers to watch

Testing can't meet the general public's demand because of the contagious Omicron variant, meaning many people with COVID-19 won't be reflected in the case count. Hospitalizations and wastewater monitoring can help fill in some of the grey areas.

The average level of coronavirus in Ottawa's wastewater is stable. It's stable at sites in the Kingston area and stable or dropping in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties. Of the three sites east of Ottawa, only Casselman saw rising levels.

There are 11 Ottawa residents in local hospitals for treatment of active COVID-19 as of Tuesday's report from Ottawa Public Health (OPH). None of them need intensive care.

Ottawa-Gatineau area confirmed COVID-19 cases

The overall hospitalization number is higher if you include people in hospital for other reasons who happen to have COVID-19. There were 16 as of Saturday.

Ottawa has had 62,880 confirmed cases of COVID-19. There are 880 known active cases and 742 residents have died from the illness.

Communities outside of Ottawa have about 50 COVID-19 hospitalizations. About 15 of them still need intensive care. These numbers don't include Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.

In the rest of eastern Ontario, 387 people with COVID-19 have died. The death toll is 287 in western Quebec.

What are the rules?

Eastern Ontario:

There are no provincial capacity or gathering limits. Masks are mandatory in indoor public settings.

The province's vaccine passport has ended. A vaccine mandate for staff and visitors in long-term care homes remains for now.

Businesses and other settings can still ask for proof of vaccination.

WATCH | Recapping this week's changes in Ontario:

Western Quebec

Gatherings at homes at homes no longer have any restrictions, although health officials recommend 10 people or three households at most.

Dining rooms and now bars are open at half capacity. Theatres and places of worship can reopen with capacity limits. Retail shops no longer have capacity limits. Gyms and spas are now open and more sports can resume.

Masks are mandatory indoors in public for people age 10 and up.

There are plans end capacity limits and the vaccine passport on March 14. That vaccine passport is in place for most people age 13 and up in a shrinking number of public spaces.

What can I do?

Prevention

COVID-19 primarily spreads through droplets that can hang in the air. People can be contagious without symptoms, even after getting a vaccine.

Evidence suggests the dominant Omicron variant is more contagious than other types, but generally less deadly for vaccinated people without underlying conditions.

Though this wave has peaked, this level of spread puts vulnerable people at risk. Some surgeries delayed around the peak can resume.

WATCH | 'High anxiety' for immunocompromised people:

Health officials say people should recommit to the fundamentals of getting all vaccine doses as they're eligible for, staying home when sick, masking, distancing and limiting close contacts.

Medical masks are recommended over cloth ones.

Ontario and Quebec allow some people to self-isolate for five days under certain circumstances.

Travel

Travellers older than 12 years and four months must be fully vaccinated to board a plane, train or marine vessel in Canada.

The federal government no longer advises against non-essential international travel.

People have to be fully vaccinated, pre-approved, asymptomatic and test negative to enter Canada. Travellers can now take an authorized rapid test.

The U.S. requires all adults crossing a border to be fully vaccinated. People flying there will need proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test.

Vaccines

Vaccines curb the spread of all variants of COVID-19 and go a long way toward avoiding deaths and hospitalizations, without offering total protection.

Six COVID-19 vaccines are safe and approved in Canada, with some age restrictions.

Both local provinces generally recommend doses for kids age five to 11 at least eight weeks apart for the best protection. Some health authorities say parents can request a shorter interval.

Guidance varies on when, not if, people should get a third dose after contracting COVID-19. Experts agree people should wait until they've recovered.

There have been more than 5.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the Ottawa-Gatineau region, which has about 2.3 million residents.

Eastern Ontario

Eligible people can look for provincial appointments online or over the phone at 1-833-943-3900.

Everyone 18 and older in Ontario can book third shots once 84 days have passed since their second. Third doses are available for everyone age 12 to 17 once 168 days have passed.

Fourth doses are being offered to select groups after the same 84-day wait.

Check local health unit websites for details on their clinics. Pharmacies and some family doctors also offer vaccines through their own booking systems.

Western Quebec

Those who are eligible can get an appointment or visit a permanent or mobile walk-in clinic.

All adults are eligible for a third dose; the general recommendation between second and third is three months.

Symptoms, treatment and testing

COVID-19 can range from a cold-like illness to a severe lung infection, with common symptoms including fever, a cough, headache, vomiting and loss of taste or smell.

"Long-haul" symptoms can last for months.

Ontario and Quebec are using Pfizer's COVID-19 prescription treatment Paxlovid at first on adults at risk of severe COVID-19 problems.

If you have severe symptoms, call 911.

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

In eastern Ontario:

Only high-risk people with symptoms or who are at risk of severe illness from COVID-19 can get a laboratory-checked PCR test due to Omicron demand.

Qualified people can check with their health unit for locations and hours. Other people with symptoms should assume they have COVID-19 and isolate.

Only students and teachers who show symptoms at school will have access to PCR tests. Rapid and take-home tests are available for the general public at participating stores and in some child-care settings when risk is high.

Travellers who need a test have local options to pay for one.

In western Quebec:

Quebec has also stopped giving PCR tests to the general public, saving them for high-risk settings.

Rapid COVID-19 tests are available in all Quebec daycares, preschools and elementary schools, as well as through pharmacies for the general population.

People can report rapid test results online.

First Nations, Inuit and Métis:

First Nations, Inuit and Métis people, or someone travelling to work in a remote Indigenous community, are eligible for a test in both Ontario and Quebec.

Inuit in Ottawa can call the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team at 613-740-0999 on weekdays for testing and vaccines in Inuktitut or English .

Akwesasne has COVID-19 test and vaccine information online or at 613-575-2341. The neighbouring Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe is also offering tests. It has had more than 1,850 residents test positive for COVID-19 and 19 deaths between its northern and southern sections.

People in Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg can call the COVID hotline at 819-449-8085 for a test on Wednesdays if they qualify. Rapid tests are available at the health centre. It had more than 175 confirmed cases and one death as of mid-January; 152 of those cases since Dec. 3, 2021.

People in Pikwàkanagàn can call 613-625-1175 for tests and vaccines. It's offering rapid and PCR tests three mornings a week. The community didn't have any confirmed COVID-19 cases until December 2021; it had 103 confirmed cases as of Feb. 25.

Anyone in Tyendinaga who's interested in a PCR test or vaccine can call its community health team at 613-967-3603. They can ask also ask about rapid tests by texting 613-686-5510 or sending an email. It had 91 confirmed cases and two deaths until it stopped sharing its count in January.