What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, May 17
Key updates on the coronavirus pandemic in the region
Recent developments:
- No new COVID-19 deaths were reported in Ottawa Sunday.
- Ontario confirmed 340 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the provincial total to 22,653.
- An employee at Embassy West Senior Living has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Facebook post from the care home. The staff member isn't a front-line worker and is at home self-isolating.
- A cashier at the Independent grocery store at 2737 Laurier St. in Rockland, Ont., has also tested positive. They worked in the garden centre from May 11-14, according to the Eastern Ontario Health Unit.
- More NCC road closures are making it easier to stay apart and get some exercise this weekend.
- This is the last weekend for the Canadian Tulip Festival, but organizers still ask that people stay home and respect physical distancing guidelines.
- Anyone who has symptoms of COVID-19 should now present themselves for testing to help Ottawa Public Health keep the virus at bay.
- Visit our Facebook page dedicated to feel-good local stories.
What's happening today?
Tulips are just about at their peak in Ottawa, but the Canadian Tulip Festival is still asking people to avoid creating crowds and enjoy the flowers safely at home. We collected our best photos and video of the festival to make that a bit easier.
The National Capital Commission is opening up two more roadways, along with the Queen Elizabeth Driveway, to help people get outside and get exercise.
The westbound lanes of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway between Dominion Avenue and Booth Street, as well as the Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway between the Aviation Parkway and St. Joseph Boulevard, will now close from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays until the end of May. It will also remain closed for the rest of the long weekend.
Marinas, private campgrounds and golf course driving ranges are among the businesses that were able to reopen as of Saturday, as part of the Ontario government's first phase of relaunching the economy.
Ottawa Inner City Health, which runs a supervised consumption site on Murray Street in the Byward Market, says it will relax physical distancing measures at the site after limiting access led to people overdosing on the sidewalk outside the facility. This week, the site will get back to full capacity — even if that means having people closer than two metres.
WATCH: Tiptoe through the tulips with CBC Ottawa
How many cases are there?
There have been 1,791 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and 194 deaths linked to the respiratory illness. There are 2,776 known cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec.
More than 2,000 people in the region have recovered from COVID-19.
The deaths of 48 people in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties and 26 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?
On Saturday, marinas, golf courses and some other recreational services can open in Ontario.
On Tuesday, retails stores with street entrances, pet groomers and several other categories of businesses can reopen. Some surgeries, non-team sports and non-essential construction can resume that same day.
Ontario's provincial parks are now open for limited day use.
Gatineau Park is open for people within walking or biking distance to walk or cycle through, like the National Capital Commission's urban spaces and Ottawa city parks.
National parks start to reopen June 1. Quebec provincial parks remain closed.
The NCC will close parts of the Sir John A. Macdonald Parkway and Sir George-Étienne Cartier Parkway to vehicles on weekends during the day to help joggers and cyclists keep their distance.
The ban on non-essential travel into Gatineau from Ottawa is angering some cottage owners who want to check on their properties this long weekend.
Ottawa has cancelled event permits and closed many facilities until July. Quebec has asked organizers to cancel events until September.
Ontario schools will remain closed through May and Quebec 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, although people can be asymptomatic and still be contagious.
That means physical distancing measures remain in effect: people should avoid non-essential trips, work from home, cancel gatherings and stay 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.
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 also 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 anyone with symptoms can now be tested 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.
The public health unit in the Belleville area is asking people to call 613-966-5500 with questions. The line won't be in service on Victoria Day.
You can still arrange a test if you have symptoms by calling one of its testing centres in Belleville, Trenton or Bancroft. If you're interested in the Picton centre, call the health unit, TeleHealth or your family doctor.
You may also qualify for a home test.
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.
Winchester and Rockland's clinics are closed on Victoria Day.
WATCH: Made-in-Ottawa technology connecting loved ones with a single touch
In Kingston, the assessment centre at the Kingston Memorial Centre is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. for anyone with symptoms.
All three days of the long weekend it's open 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
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.
The Brockville site is open 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. this Saturday, Sunday and Monday.
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.
In western Quebec:
Outaouais residents should call 819-644-4545 if they have symptoms. They could end up being referred to Gatineau's testing centre.
First Nations communities
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 new council has ordered all businesses to close and has cancelled its August powwow.
Kitigan Zibi has postponed its June election and is keeping schools closed through the summer.
For more information
- Ottawa Public Health.
- Your local eastern Ontario health unit.
- The Ontario Ministry of Health (in several languages).
- The Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais.
- The Public Health Agency of Canada.
