Recent developments:
What’s the latest?
The long wait-list for a bed at an Ontario nursing home could grow even longer, thanks in part to new provincial restrictions on older facilities with four-bed rooms.
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Health-care workers are still most at risk of contracting COVID-19 on the job in Ottawa, but a study by Ottawa Public Health (OPH) reveals the other industries significantly affected.
Ottawa’s John Watters writes that as a person with a hearing disability, wearing a mask to keep others safe from the coronavirus also prevent him from communicating with others.
How many cases are there?
There have been 2,056 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and 260 deaths.
There are more than 3,275 known cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
More than 2,750 people in the region have recovered from COVID-19.
COVID-19 has killed 102 people outside Ottawa: 52 in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties, 17 in other parts of eastern Ontario and 33 in the Outaouais.
What’s open and closed?
Eastern Ontario is in “Stage 2” of the province’s recovery plan, with cabinet ministers nodding Monday to news about the next stage soon.
Quebec now allows indoor, distanced gatherings of up to 50 people, including in places of worship and indoor sports venues, and has relaxed rules at daycares.
Today, masks are mandatory on all Via Rail trains and Kingston city staff will have an update on its pandemic-affected services.
Kingston starts closing parts of some downtown streets this week to offer more space.
Most Ottawa beaches reopen Saturday — Gatineau and NCC beaches are open now — and this will be the final scheduled weekend for the National Capital Commission’s COVID-19-related road closures.
Quebec’s back-to-school plans bring older students to classrooms again. Ontario has put three options for next school year on the table, while post-secondary schools are moving toward more online classes in September.
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 working from home and in Ontario, staying at least two metres away from anyone they don’t live with or have in their circle.
Children in Quebec can now be one metre apart at school and day camps and all Quebecers can be within 1.5 metres of each other while seated at indoor venues such as theatres.
Ottawa Public Health now wants people to think about how to safely do certain things and 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.
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Anyone who has symptoms or travelled recently outside Canada must self-isolate for at least 14 days.
Specifically in Ottawa, anyone waiting for a COVID-19 test result must self-isolate at least until they know the result.
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.
Ontario hopes to test a federal contact tracing app next month that would let users know if they’ve been close to a confirmed case.
Where to get tested
In eastern Ontario:
In Ottawa any resident who feels they need a test, even if they are not showing symptoms, can now be tested at one of three sites.
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.
Testing has also expanded 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.
Others in Rockland and Cornwall require an appointment.
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In Kingston, the assessment centre at the Kingston Memorial Centre is open seven days a week for walk-ins. Napanee‘s test centre is open daily for people who call for an appointment.
The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark unit asks you to get tested if you have a symptom or concerns about exposure.
It has a walk-in site in Brockville open seven days a week at the Memorial Centre and testing sites in Smiths Falls and Almonte which require an appointment.
The public health unit in the Belleville area is asking people to call it, their family doctor or Telehealth if they have symptoms or questions.
You can arrange a test in Bancroft, Belleville or Trenton by calling the centre, or in Picton by texting or calling 613-813-6864.
There are weekly pop-up clinics in other communities and you may also qualify for a home test.
Renfrew County is also providing pop-up and home testing under some circumstances. Residents without access to a family doctor can call 1-844-727-6404 if they have health questions, COVID-19-related or not.
If you’re concerned about the coronavirus, take the self-assessment.
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In western Quebec:
Outaouais residents should call 1-877 644-4545 if they have symptoms for further assistance.
First Nations:
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’s interested in a test can call 613-967-3603 to talk to a nurse.
Pikwakanagan‘s council let businesses reopen May 29 and is not running checkpoints at entrances during the day.
