What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Wednesday, Oct. 21

Recent developments:

• OC Transpo buses willbe fitted with protective Plexiglas shields to protect drivers.
• Organized sports are becoming a pandemic problem in Ottawa, the city's medical officer of health warned.
• Four more people have died from COVID-19 in Ottawa and there are another 60 cases in the city, OPH reported Wednesday.
• The Eastern Ontario Health Unit has logged another death from COVID-19.

What's the latest?

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) says participants in organized sports in the city are spreading COVID-19 before, during and after events.

OPH is asking players not to carpool or eat with teammates who don't live under the same roof. Participants are alsobeing advised against sharing gear or playing on more than one team.

OC Transpo is set to install barriers on its buses to protect driversfrom abusive and sometimes violent passengers an issue the city has been looking into since the mid-2000s.

Arelevantbenefit now is that they offerextra protection againstthe spread of COVID-19.

WATCH | COVID-19 spreading during sports:

How COVID-19 is spread through organized sports in Ottawa

4 years ago

Duration 1:35

Dr. Vera Etches, Ottawas medical officer of health, says COVID-19 has been transmitted among players and coaching staff in a variety of sports leagues, putting hundreds of close contacts at risk.

Ottawa's COVID-19 death toll has increased by four and there are 60 new cases in the city, OPH said Wednesday.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU), which covers the region east of Ottawa, has also reported another COVID-19-related death.

How many cases are there?

As ofWednesday's update from OPH,6,226 Ottawa residents havetested positive for COVID-19. There are 717known active cases,5,201 resolved cases and 308 deaths.

Testing numbers have been lower than the groups running it would like.

Public health officials have reported more than9,500COVID-19 cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with more than7,900 of them resolved.

Seventy-twopeople with COVID-19 have diedelsewhere in eastern Ontario, along with35 in western Quebec.

What can I do?

Both Ontario and Quebec aretelling people to limit close contact only to those they live withor one other home if people live alone.

In Ottawa which has been rolled back to a modified Stage 2 and Gatineau, Que., health officials are asking residents not to leave homeunless it's essential.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) covering communities such as Hawkesbury and Cornwall has said it will likely have to roll back.

• Eastern Ontario nursing homes eagerly awaitRed Cross help

Indoor dining at restaurants has been prohibited, while gyms, cinemas, casinos and performing arts venues are all closed.

Dr. Vera Etches, the capital's medical officer of health, has said the national capital'shealth-care system is on the verge of collapse,with hospitalizations rising swiftly and peopleexperiencingdelays getting test results.

WATCH | OPH's morning update:

OPH and some other local health unitsare urging peoplenot to have a Halloweenparty with other households or go trick-or-treating.

Ontario's chief medical officer of health said to listen to local officialsbut rule of thumb if trick-or-treating is allowed, people should stick to their neighbourhood and do it outside with their household only.

Gatineau and parts of the Outaouaisare now onred alert, which meansrestaurants and bars can't serve people indoors, organized sports are suspended and theatresmust close.

Quebecers are also urged not to travel to Ontario or between regions at different levels on its scale except for essential reasons.

Even though most of the region has been declared a red zone,PremierFranois Legault said kids can trick-or-treat as long as they don't go with friends and precautions are taken when giving out candy.

What about schools?

There have been more than 180schools in the wider Ottawa-Gatineau region with a confirmed case of COVID-19:

• Conseil des coles catholiques du Centre-Est
• Conseil des coles publiques de l'Est de l'Ontario
• Ottawa-Carleton District School Board
• Ottawa Catholic School Board

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.

As of mid-October, a small fraction of Ottawa students and staff had tested positive.

WATCH | Grade 5 student talks about this year's lunch breaks:

COVID-19 safety rules lead to more subdued school lunchtimes

4 years ago

Duration 0:42

Akwa Udoeyop, whos in Grade 5, talks about how lunchtime has changed now that COVID-19 restrictions are in place.

Distancing and isolating

The novel coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes or speaks onto someone or something.

People can be contagious without symptoms.

This means people should take precautions such as staying home when sick, keeping hands and frequently touched surfaces clean, socializing outdoors as much as possible and maintaining distance from anyone they don't live with even with a mask on.

Masks are mandatory in indoor public settings in Ontario and Quebecand are recommended outdoors when people can't stay the proper distance from others.

Anyone with symptoms shouldself-isolate, asshould anyone told to by a public health unit. IfOttawans don't,they face a fine of up to $5,000 per day in court. Kingston, Ont., has slightly different rules.

Some people waiting for test results in Quebec don't have to stay home. Most people with a confirmed COVID-19 case in Quebec can end their self-isolation after 10 days under certain conditions.

Health Canada recommends older adults and people with underlying medical conditions and/or weakened immune systems stay home as much as possible.

Anyone who has travelled recently outside Canada must go straight home and stay there for 14 days.

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 cough, vomiting and the loss of taste or smell.

Less common symptoms include chills, headaches and pink eye. Children can develop a rash.

If you have severe symptoms, call 911.

Mental health can also be affected by the pandemic and resources are available to help.

Where to get tested

In eastern Ontario:

Ontario recommends only getting tested if you have symptoms, or if you've been told to by your health unit or the province.

Anyone seeking a testshould now book an appointment. Different sites in the area have different ways to book, including over the phone or going in person to get a time slot.

People without symptoms, but who are part of the province's targeted testing strategy, can make an appointment at selectpharmaciesin Belleville, Kingston and Ottawa.

Ottawa has five permanentsites, with additional mobile sites deployedwherever demand is particularly high.

The Eastern Ontario Health Unithas sites in Alexandria, Cornwall, Hawkesbury, Limoges,Rockland and Winchester.

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark health unit has permanent sites in Almonte, Brockville, Kemptville and Smiths Falls. Pop-up test sites are happening tomorrowin Carleton Place and Friday in Perth.

Kingston'stest site isat the Beechgrove Complex.Napanee's test centre is open daily for people who call ahead.

People can arrange a test in Bancroft and Picton by calling the centre or Belleville and Trenton online.

Renfrew County residents should call their family doctor or1-844-727-6404 for a test or with questions, COVID-19-related or not. Test clinic locations are posted weekly.

WATCH | Retired U of O prof's website watched by U.S. State Department:

University of Ottawa professor's website under scrutiny for Kremlin-aligned disinformation

4 years ago

Duration 2:05

Michel Chossudovsky is a University of Ottawa professor emeritus whose website has a Facebook following of more than 275,000. But ahead of the U.S. election, his website has come under renewed scrutiny as a source of Russian-aligned disinformation.

In western Quebec:

Tests are strongly recommended for people with symptoms or who have been in contact with someone with symptoms. People without symptoms can also get a test.

Outaouais residents can make an appointment in Gatineau seven days a week at 135 blvd. Saint-Raymond or 617 avenue Buckingham.

They can now check the approximate wait time for the Saint-Raymond site.

There are recurring clinics by appointment in communities such as Gracefield, Val-des-Monts and Fort-Coulonge.

Call 1-877-644-4545 withquestions, including if walk-in testing is available nearby.

First Nations, Inuit and Mtis:

Akwesasnehas a mobile COVID-19 test site available by appointment only.

Anyone returning to the community on the Canadian side of the international border who's been farther than 160 kilometres away or visited Montreal for non-essential reasons is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.

• COVID-19 in Indigenous communities: Total cases on-reserve surpass 1,000

Inuit in Ottawa cancall the Akausivik Inuit Family Health Team at 613-740-0999 for service, including testing, in Inuktitut or English on weekdays.

People in Pikwakanagan can book a COVID-19 test by calling 613-625-2259.

Anyone in Tyendinaga who's interested in a test can call 613-967-3603.

For more information

• Ottawa Public Health.
• Your local eastern Ontario health unit.
• The Ontario Ministry of Health (in several languages).
• The Centre intgr de sant et de services sociaux de l'Outaouais.
• The Public Health Agency of Canada.