Recent developments:
What’s happening today?
With gatherings banned and most events cancelled or postponed, this year’s Canada Day party will be moving online, the federal government has announced.
Parts of Ottawa’s Queen Elizabeth Driveway and Bank Street Bridge are closing to vehicles starting this weekend to help people in the area get outside.
After more than a month of physical distancing, Ottawa Public Health is talking to politicians and health-care partners about what loosening up could look like, but still hasn’t released a timeline of when measures could end.
Distancing could last for months to avoid a resurgence; August or beyond is the opinion of one local top doctor.
WATCH: Easter Saturday drone video of downtown Ottawa
How many cases are there?
There are now 728 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and more than 1,325 in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
The deaths of 32 people in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties and two more in the wider region have also been tied to COVID-19.
The vast majority of the deaths are seniors.
From what we know, nearly 400 people out of that regional total have recovered, but most local health units don’t share that data.
Confirmed cases represent only a fraction of the actual number because of limited testing.
Distancing and isolating
Physical distancing remains in effect: avoiding non-essential trips, working from home, cancelling all gatherings and staying at least two metres away from anyone you 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.
In Ontario, anyone in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or is presumed to have COVID-19 must also self-isolate for 14 days.
Ontario also recommends people older than 70 and those with compromised immune systems or underlying health issues go into voluntary self-isolation.
How daily life is changing
Quebec has banned non-essential travel into and through the Outaouais.
Municipal parks are only open to walk through, provincial and national parks are closed and authorities are watching for gatherings in many communities.
WATCH: The toll on mental health under physical distancing measures
Ottawa has cancelled event permits and closed many facilities until July. Quebec has asked organizers to cancel events until September.
Schools in Ontario and Quebec are closed until at least May and non-essential businesses should be closed.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
They range from a cold-like illness to a severe lung infection, most commonly fever, fatigue and a dry cough.
Recently added symptoms include a sore throat, runny nose and less common symptoms such as unexplained fatigue, nausea, or loss of taste or smell.
Older people, those with compromised immune systems and those with underlying medical problems are more likely to develop serious problems.
If you have severe symptoms, call 911.
WATCH: Slowing of COVID-19 infections gives health-care system some ‘breathing room,’
The coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. People can be contagious without having symptoms.
The germs can also spread through close, prolonged contact, such as handshaking, and via surfaces such as door handles, phones and light switches.
Where to get tested
Anyone concerned they have COVID-19 in Ontario can fill out its online assessment tool.
There’s also Telehealth at 1-866-797-0000; be prepared for wait times.
Ottawans with symptoms and who meet certain criteria can get tested at the Brewer Arena.
It’s open from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. You don’t have to call ahead.
People with mild or moderate symptoms can also visit clinics in Bells Corners or Alta Vista weekdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The assessment centre at the Kingston Memorial Centre is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for anyone with symptoms.
The public health unit in the Belleville area is asking people only call it at 613-966-5500 if they still have questions after the province’s self-assessment.
Same for Leeds, Grenville and Lanark‘s unit at 1-800-660-5853 extension 2499.
It has testing sites by referral from a family doctor or the health unit only in Almonte and Smiths Falls, a walk-in site in Brockville at the Memorial Centre and a home test service for people in care or with mobility challenges.
There are drive-thru test centres in Casselman and Hawkesbury without needing to call ahead and others in Rockland, Winchester and Cornwall with a referral.
Vulnerable people can call 613-933-1375 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to ask about a home test.
Renfrew County is also providing home testing under some circumstances.
Anyone who doesn’t have or can’t reach a family doctor can call its new primary health-care centre at 1-844-727-6404 if they have any health questions.
In western Quebec:
Outaouais residents should call 819-644-4545 if they have a cough or fever, whether they’ve travelled or not. You could be referred to Gatineau’s testing centre.
If your symptoms require a trip to the ER, call ahead if you can to let them know your travel history.
WATCH: How Ottawa could turn to other countries for examples of ‘a new normal’
First Nations communities
Local communities have declared states of emergency, put in a curfew or both.
With a confirmed case in the American part of Akwesasne, anyone returning from farther than 80 kilometres away is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
Anyone in Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte who has symptoms can call 613-967-3603 to talk to a nurse.
Pikwakanagan’s new council has ordered all businesses to close.
Kitigan Zibi has postponed a June election.
