What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Friday, Nov. 6

Recent developments:

• Ottawa has 36 more COVID-19 cases.
• Pandemic rules change in Ottawa and communities to the east on Saturday.
• Ceremonies to honour First Nations veterans have been scaled back ormoved online.

What's the latest?

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) is reporting 36 new cases ofCOVID-19 and two more deaths on Friday.

Ottawa and the Eastern Ontario Health Unit (EOHU) to the eastare poised to be on orange alerttomorrow, with rules similar to what used to be known as Stage 3 but no social circles and a few tweaks for things such as bar hours.

The rules are looser than what's been in place in Ottawa and tighter in the EOHU.

Eastern Ontario's other health units will be green, the lowest level on the province's new scale.

National Aboriginal Veterans Day ceremonies have been scaled back this year in communities such as Pikwakanagan and Kitigan Zibi.

WATCH LIVE | Ontario's daily update from Ottawa at 1:30p.m. ET:

For this business owner, closing was a relief after months of indecision

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Laura Twiss, co-owner of the boutique Twiss and Weber, says making the decision to close their physical store was a relief after so many months of limbo.

How many cases are there?

As of Friday's update from Ottawa Public Health (OPH), 7,360Ottawa residents have tested positive for COVID-19.

There are 587known active cases, 6,437resolved cases and 336deaths.

Public health officials have reported more than11,500 COVID-19 cases across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, including more than 9,900 resolved cases.

Eighty-five people with COVID-19 have died elsewhere in eastern Ontario, along with 51in western Quebec.

What can I do?

Both Ontario and Quebec are telling people to limit close contact only to those they live with or one other home if people live alone to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Ottawa's medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches said as the city moves to orange, people need to work and have more activities available for their overall health.

She wants people to focus on managingrisks in businesses like they have in schools and takingprecautions when seeing those they don't live with.

• OPH wants Ottawans to fine tune physical distancing

In Gatineauand the surrounding area, which is a red zone, health officials are asking residents not to leave home unless it's essential.

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

The rest of western Quebec is orange, which allows private gatherings of up to six people and organized ones up to 25 higher in seated venues.

Travel to another region is discouraged throughout the Outaouais.

The Royal Canadian Legion isasking people to pay their respects from homeon Remembrance Day.

What about schools?

There have been about 190 schools 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.

• Quebec should have done more, sooner in schools to stave off 2nd wave, experts say

Distancing and isolating

The novel coronavirus primarily spreads through droplets when an infected person coughs, sneezes, breathes or speaks onto someone or something. These droplets can hang in the air.

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.

Ottawa's medical officer of health Dr. Vera Etches sayspeople should be wary of blind spots such as taking a lunch break at work or carpooling.

Masks are mandatory in indoor public settings in Ontario and Quebec and should be wornoutdoors when people can't distance from others. Three-layer non-medical masks with a filterare recommended.

Anyone with symptoms or who's ordered to do so by their local public health unit should self-isolate. The duration is subject to a range stipulated by health officials in both Ontario and Quebec.

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 test should 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.

Testing numbers have been lower than the groups running it would like and they want people to know there are often same-day appointments available.

People without symptoms, but who are part of the province's targeted testing strategy, can make an appointment at select pharmacies.

Ottawa haseight permanent test sites, with additional mobile sites deployed wherever demand is particularly high.

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

Kingston's test site is at the Beechgrove Complex. The area's other test site is in Napanee. Both are open seven days a week.

The Leeds, Grenville and Lanark health unit has permanent sites in Almonte, Brockville, Kemptville and Smiths Falls.

WATCH | Twiss andWebercloses store, goes online-only:

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 or 1-844-727-6404 for a test or with questions, COVID-19-related or not. Test clinic locations are posted weekly.

In western Quebec:

Tests are strongly recommended for people with symptoms or who have been in contact with someone with symptoms.

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 with questions, including if walk-in testing is available nearby.

First Nations, Inuit and Mtis:

Several people have recently tested positive for COVID-19 in Akwesasne, with 14 known active cases across the community.

It has a 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: active cases reach 500

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.

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.

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.