(October 8, 2020)<\/p>\n
By: CBC News, Yahoo News<\/p>\n
What’s the latest?<\/strong><\/p>\n Ottawa has 182 more confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the province, surpassing the previous daily record of 142. Ottawa Public Health (OPH) will release its more detailed report early this afternoon.<\/p>\n OPH\u00a0is using another real-world example of what can happen when\u00a0people don’t\u00a0follow public health rules.<\/p>\n One person with mild symptoms went to a wedding without key precautions, 12 more people at that wedding got COVID-19 and the virus later got into schools and a group home.<\/p>\n Some experts say with precautions in place, sports\u00a0might be a relatively safe way to get exercise\u00a0even as more and more people test positive for\u00a0COVID-19.<\/p>\n How many cases are there?<\/strong><\/p>\n As of\u00a0the most recent OPH\u00a0update on Wednesday, 4,970 Ottawa residents have tested positive for COVID-19.<\/p>\n That includes 810\u00a0known active cases, 3,865\u00a0resolved cases and 295 deaths.<\/p>\n Note: Data changed from the five-day average to the seven-day average of newly confirmed cases to reflect epidemiological best practices: a seven-day average smooths out the impact of less testing on weekends.<\/em><\/p>\n Overall, public health officials have reported more than 7,500 cases of COVID-19 across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with nearly 6,000 of those cases considered resolved.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n What’s open and closed?<\/strong><\/p>\n Health officials are telling people to see fewer people in person, or stricter rules will force them to.<\/p>\n Ontario is telling people to\u00a0limit close contact only to those they live with\u00a0or one other home if people live alone.<\/p>\n Ottawa’s medical officer of health said\u00a0late last week\u00a0the entire health-care system is on the verge of collapse and is advising\u00a0people to celebrate Thanksgiving\u00a0only with members of their immediate household.<\/p>\n Other health units\u00a0with different COVID-19 situations may have different Thanksgiving advice.<\/p>\n Western Quebec’s health authority\u00a0says residents need to stop gathering until the end of October or,\u00a0like Montreal and Quebec,\u00a0people won’t be allowed to see anyone they don’t live with.<\/p>\n The region is currently on\u00a0orange alert, which means\u00a0private and organized gathering limits, earlier closing hours for restaurants and recommendations against travelling to other regions.<\/p>\n What about schools?<\/strong><\/p>\n There have been more than 150\u00a0schools in the wider Ottawa-Gatineau region with a confirmed case of COVID-19:<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Ontario updated its COVID-19 school symptom rules\u00a0last week.<\/p>\n Distancing and isolating<\/strong><\/p>\n The novel coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes or speaks onto someone or something.<\/p>\n People can be contagious without symptoms.<\/p>\n 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 \u2014 even when you have a mask on.<\/p>\n Masks are\u00a0mandatory in indoor public settings\u00a0in Ontario\u00a0and Quebec\u00a0and\u00a0recommended outdoors when people can’t stay the proper distance from others.<\/p>\n Anyone with symptoms should\u00a0self-isolate, so should anyone told to by a public health unit. If\u00a0Ottawans don’t,\u00a0they face a fine of up to $5,000 per day in court.<\/p>\n Kingston’s\u00a0medical officer of health said people living with someone waiting for a test result\u00a0now do not need to self-isolate\u00a0and\u00a0someone with COVID-19 now\u00a0has to isolate for at least 10 days from the day they first experience symptoms.<\/p>\n Most people with a confirmed COVID-19 case in Quebec\u00a0can end their self-isolation after 10 days\u00a0under certain conditions.<\/p>\n Health Canada recommends older adults and people with underlying medical conditions and\/or weakened immune systems stay home as much as possible.<\/p>\n Anyone who has travelled recently outside Canada\u00a0must go straight home\u00a0and stay there for 14 days.<\/p>\n What are the symptoms of COVID-19?<\/strong><\/p>\n COVID-19\u00a0can range from a cold-like illness\u00a0to a severe lung infection, with common symptoms including fever, a cough, vomiting and the loss of taste or smell.<\/p>\n Less common symptoms include chills, headaches and pink eye. Children can\u00a0develop a rash.<\/p>\n Getting tested any sooner than five days after potential exposure may not be useful since the virus may not yet be detectable, says OPH.<\/p>\n If you have severe symptoms, call 911.<\/p>\n Where to get tested<\/strong><\/p>\n In eastern Ontario:<\/strong><\/p>\n Ontario recommends only getting tested\u00a0if you have symptoms, or if you’ve been told to by your health unit or the province. Anyone seeking a test\u00a0should now book an appointment.<\/p>\n People without symptoms, but who are part of the province’s targeted testing strategy,\u00a0can make an appointment at select Ottawa pharmacies.<\/p>\n Most of\u00a0Ottawa’s testing happens at\u00a0four permanent sites, with additional mobile sites\u00a0wherever demand is particularly high.<\/p>\n There is\u00a0limited walk-up capacity\u00a0and telephone booking\u00a0for some sites for people without internet access and priority groups such as health-care workers.<\/p>\n Its Coventry Road clinic will be closed on Monday.<\/p>\n In the\u00a0Eastern Ontario Health Unit,\u00a0the Limoges drive-thru centre\u00a0isn’t ready to take appointments until tomorrow so it’s working on a drive-up model.<\/p>\n The health unit also has sites in Alexandria, Cornwall, Hawkesbury, Rockland and Winchester. All are closed on Monday.<\/p>\n In Kingston, the test site is\u00a0at the\u00a0Beechgrove Complex\u00a0and online booking isn’t available yet. For now, people are asked to go to the complex to make an appointment.<\/p>\n Napanee’s test centre\u00a0is open daily for people who call ahead.<\/p>\n People can\u00a0arrange a test\u00a0in Bancroft and Picton by calling the centre or Belleville and Trenton online.<\/p>\n The\u00a0Leeds, Grenville and Lanark\u00a0health unit has permanent sites in Almonte, Brockville, Kemptville and Smiths Falls, plus a pop-up site in Gananoque today.<\/p>\n Renfrew County residents should call their family doctor or\u00a01-844-727-6404 for a test or with\u00a0COVID-19-related or not. Test clinic locations\u00a0are posted weekly.<\/p>\n