Ottawa’s Shepherds of Good Hope shelter and service provider said it started offering tests to all clients and staff after they learned of the first COVID-19 case linked to someone who had stayed with it on May 14. (Michel Aspirot/Radio-Canada)
How many cases are there?
There have been 1,896 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and 233 deaths linked to the respiratory illness. There are just under 3,000 known cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
Over 2,200 people in the region have recovered from COVID-19.
The deaths of 49 people in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties and 29 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 being expanded.
What’s open and closed?
Ontario is in “stage one” of its three-stage reopening plan. When ready, its next stage will take another step toward bringing more offices, outdoor spaces and gatherings back.
People wait in a line for the cashiers, separated by their carts and a corral made of tape to allow for physical distancing, at a garden centre in Ottawa, on Saturday, May 23, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
People practice physical distancing as they enjoy the warm weather at Mooney’s Bay Park in Ottawa, on Saturday, May 23, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
Ottawa has cancelled event permits until the end of August. Quebec has asked organizers to cancel events until September.
Quebec elementary schools outside Montreal are open. Its high schools, CEGEPs and universities will stay closed to in-person classes until fall.
Distancing and isolating
The coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. People don’t need to have symptoms to be contagious.
That means physical distancing measures such as avoiding non-essential trips, working from home, not gathering and staying at least two metres away from anyone they don’t live with.
Ottawa Public Health recommends people wear a fabric or non-medical mask when they can’t always stay two metres from strangers, such as at a grocery store.
Volunteer Paula Rozanski makes batches of peanut butter and jam sandwiches that will be given to clients, at the Shepherds of Good Hope soup kitchen in Ottawa, on Sunday, May 24, 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
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, a dry cough, vomiting and the loss of taste or smell.
Less common symptoms include chills, headaches and pink eye. The Ontario government says in rare cases, children can develop a rash.
If you have severe symptoms, call 911.
Everyone in Ontario who has symptoms of COVID-19 should present themselves for testing.
Where to get tested
In Ottawa any resident who feels they need a test, even if they are not showing symptoms, can now be tested.
Tests are done at the Brewer Arena from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., seven days a week, or at 595 Moodie Dr. and 1485 Heron Rd. those same hours on weekdays.
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.
The debate over democracy in the pandemic grows as MPs return to Ottawa with hard questions about plans for a partially virtual Parliament. 1:51
The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark unit asks you to call it at 1-800-660-5853, ext. 2499 if you have questions after doing the province’s self-assessment.
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.
WATCH: The National‘s regular COVID-19 Q&A
A doctor answers viewer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic including whether it would be OK to let someone else use a family’s pool when they’re not using it. 3:51
The public health unit in the Belleville area is asking people to call 613-966-5500 with questions.
Renfrew County is also providing home testing under some circumstances. Residents without access to a family doctor can call 1-844-727-6404 if they have health questions after doing the self-assessment.
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 council plans to let businesses reopen May 29 and Kitigan Zibi is keeping schools closed through the summer.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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