What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Wednesday, Sept. 23

Recent developments:

• Three more cases are linked to theCOVID-19 outbreak at a Pembroke school.
• Pharmacies in Ontario can begin testing asymptomatic peopleFriday.
• Ottawa is 'close to red' on the pandemic alert scale, according to the medical officer of health.
• Ottawa Public Health is reporting65 new cases of COVID-19 and has declared 106 cases resolved.
• Details of the nationalpandemic planshould come in two speeches today.

What's the latest?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has announced selectpharmacies in theprovince can begin testing asymptomatic people for COVID-19 onFriday, offering more options as established testing sites remain busy.

Testing at pharmacies will be free with an appointment, said Health Minister Christine Elliott.

Thirteen pharmacies in Ottawawill offer these tests.

Medical officer of health Vera Etches told Ottawa city council Wednesday she's close to escalating the city's COVID-19 status from orange to red, which signals increasing spread, outbreaks and limited hospital capacity.

WATCH | Ottawa may change to 'red' alert status:

Ottawa close to red on scale of COVID-19 spread, OPH says

4 years ago

Duration 1:11

Vera Etches, Ottawas medical officer of health, told council Wednesday that the only reason the city has so far avoided an escalated alert level is that hospitalizations are still stable.

Ottawa logged 65 more COVID-19 cases Wednesday, again one of its highest single-day counts days ever. This time, it was surpassed by the 106 people whose cases are now considered resolved.

Three people who are neither students nor staff at Fellowes High School in Pembroke, Ont., have tested positive for COVID-19.

The new cases are connected to the outbreak that closed the school last week, according to local health officials. It wasthe first school in Ontario to closedue to an outbreak since classes resumed.

How many cases are there?

As of the most recent Ottawa Public Healthupdate on Tuesday,3,837Ottawa residents have tested positive for COVID-19. That includes545knownactive cases,3,012resolved cases and 280deaths.

Overall, public health officials have reported 5,600 cases ofCOVID-19 across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with more than 4,600of those casesconsidered resolved.

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.

According to data shared byOttawa's fourboards as of Wednesday evening, 51schools had reported at least one case of COVID-19 involving a staff member or student.Seventy students or staff have tested positive.

What's open and closed?

As the number of active COVID-19 cases continues to rise in Ottawa, its public health officials areordering anyone who fits one of these descriptionsto immediately self-isolate or face a fine of up to$5,000 per day in court:

• Testspositive for COVID-19.
• Has signs or symptoms of COVID-19.
• Was inclose contact withsomeone who has tested positive.
• Is waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test.
• Hasreasonable grounds to think they have COVID-19.

They're allowed to end their isolation after 14 days or if they test negative.

Ontario and Quebec haverolled back some public health rules because of the widening spread of the coronavirus, considered the second wave in Quebec and some parts of Ontario, such as Ottawa.

• ANALYSIS |How Ontario could slow its growth in COVID-19 cases
• Quebec's second COVID-19 wave presents new challenges, and they're daunting

Private, unmonitored gatherings across Ontario are now limited to 10 people indoors and 25people outdoorsuntil at least mid-October.

Quebec has introduced tighter restrictions in the province's "orange zones," which nowincludes the Outaouais.

Physically distanced gatherings in public venuescan still include up to 250 people, although in "orange zones" like western Quebec themaximum in a place of worship, a rented hall, or festivalis now 25.

WATCH | Outaouais moves to 'orange':

Why the Outaouais is now an orange zone in Quebecs COVID-19 rating system

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Duration 0:45

Christian Dub, Quebecs minister of health and social services, says community transmission in the Outaouais is concerning because of its potential impact on health-care workers.

Ottawa will resumeticketing drivers who park longer than allowed in unmarked areasonOct. 1.

Kingston, Ont., has tightened its distancing rules in city parksand increased fines.

Distancing and isolating

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

People don't need to have symptoms to be contagious.

That means physical distancing measures such as working from home, meeting others outdoors as much as possible and keeping distance from anyone you don't live with or have in your socialcircle, including when you have a mask on.

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Ottawa's medical officer of health and Quebec's top health officialarepleading with residents to reduce the number of people they're in close contact withas new cases of COVID-19 continue to surge.

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

Masks aremandatory in indoor public settings in all of eastern Ontarioand Quebec, includingtransit services and taxis in some areas.

Masks are also recommended outdoors when you can't stay the proper distance from others.

Most people with a confirmed COVID-19 case in Quebeccan end their self-isolation after 10 days if they have not had a fever for at least 48 hours and has had no other symptom for at least 24 hours.

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

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

COVID-19can 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 candevelop a rash.

Getting tested any sooner than five days after potential exposure may not be as usefulsince it takes about that long for the virus to grow to be detectable by a test, said Ottawa's medical officer of health Vera Etches in early September.

If you have severe symptoms, call 911.

Where to get tested

Wait times and lines have been long at many of the area's test sites, causing some to reach capacity before closing time or even before opening.

It's also taking up to five days for laboratories to process tests, according to OPH's Etches on Wednesday.

Health officials have said they're trying to add more test capacity.

In eastern Ontario:

In Ottawaany resident can get tested, but record wait times have ledOttawa Public Health (OPH) to ask that testing be limited for now to people withsymptoms or who have been referred for a test because of contacttracing.

Testing for the general public happensat one of four permanent sites, with additional mobile sites wherever demand is particularly high. Some tests are alsodone in hospitals.

The Brewer Arena's CHEO area for children age two months to 17 years old is now primarily by appointment, which you can book online.

Ottawa's two care clinics on Moodie Drive and Heron Road are open later today, 10 a.m.to 5 p.m., because of maintenance on their computers systems.

A testclinic is expected toopenat the Ray FrielRecreation Complexin Orlans, likely bymid-October.

WATCH | Reaction from a school with a recent case:

Parent disappointed in COVID-19 case so early in school year

4 years ago

Duration 0:46

Sameena Khalil, who has two children at Broadview Public School, says she was disappointed to learn that someone affiliated with the school had been diagnosed with COVID-19.

In the Eastern Ontario Health Unit, there is a drive-thru centre in Casselman and walk-up sitein Hawkesbury and Winchester that don't require people to call ahead.

Its medical officer of health says the Casselman centre will be moved to reduce its impact on traffic.

Others in Alexandria, Rockland,Cornwall andWinchesterrequire an appointment.

In Kingston,the Leon's Centre is hosting the city's test site though Gate 2. There's anothertest site at Queen's University's Mitchell Hall open 5 to 8 p.m. on weekdays.

Napanee's test centre is open daily for people who call ahead.

You canarrange a test in Bancroft, Belleville or Trenton by calling the centre and in Picton by texting or calling. Only Belleville and Trenton run seven days a week.

TheLeeds, 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 at the Memorial Centre and testing sites in Smiths Falls and Almonte which require an appointment.

Renfrew County residents should call their family doctor and those without access to a family doctor can call 1-844-727-6404 for a test or if they have health questions, COVID-19-related or not.

People can also visit the health unit's website to find out where testing clinics will be taking place each week.

In western Quebec:

Outaouais residents can get a walk-in test in Gatineau seven days a week at 135 blvd. Saint-Raymond.

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

They can call 1-877-644-4545 to make an appointment or if they have other questions.

First Nations, Inuit and Mtis:

Akwesasne has had 14 confirmed COVID-19 cases, most linked to a gathering on an island in July.

It has 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.

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

People inPikwakanagan can book an appointment for a COVID-19 test by calling 613-625-2259.

Anyone inTyendinaga who's interested in a test can call 613-967-3603 to talk to a nurse.

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.