What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Thursday, Sept. 17

Recent developments:

• The maximum size of many gatherings in Ottawa shrinks as oftomorrow.
• Three pop-up COVID-19 test sites are coming toOttawa tomorrow, says a city MPP.
• There have been 39 more people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Ottawa.
• Staff at a Pembroke, Ont., school with a COVID-19 outbreak thought symptoms were allergies.

What's the latest?

Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced this afternoon that Ottawa is one of three regions with lower limits for gatherings: 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.

The new limitsapplyto privategatheringssuch as parties, dinners, barbecues and weddings,but they do not affect events at staffed venues atrestaurants, banquet halls, theatres andgyms. They also don't apply to schools or places of worship

The new rules take effect just after midnight tonight.

WATCH | Ford announces new COVID-19 gathering limits:

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Ontario Premier Doug Ford unveiled a series of new measures to stop the spread of COVID-19, including restrictions on social gatherings in three regions and significant fines for violating the new rules.

Ford also said the province is also instituting a minimum fine of $10,000 for the organizers of illegal social gatherings, as well as $750 for people who show up at parties.

Anthony Di Monte, the City of Ottawa's generalmanager of emergency and protective services, said bylaw officers will continue to exercise discretion while enforcing gathering limits but that non-compliance won't be tolerated.

Ottawa PC MPP Lisa MacLeod said there will be three new pop-up test sites in Ottawatomorrow.

Ottawa Public Health (OPH) says 39 more people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Ottawa, the eighth straight day its known active case count has risen.

A health official in Pembrokesays morecould have been doneto contain the spread of COVID-19 at Fellowes High School, Ontario's first school to close due to an outbreak of COVID-19. Staff with COVID-19 symptoms thought they were seasonal allergies.

How many cases are there?

Testing has confirmed 3,486 people in Ottawa have had COVID-19 as of Wednesday's report.

Of those, 420 are active cases, 2,793were considered resolved and 273haddied.

Overall, public health officials have reported more than 5,300 people with COVID-19 across eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with more than 4,300 of them considered 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.

What's open and closed?

Ontario ismodifyingStage 3 of its reopening planin some areas because of an increase in the number of people testing positive for COVID-19.

Test sites in and around Ottawa have been busy this week, with some reaching their daily capacitywell before their usual closing time.

• Erin O'Toole slams government over COVID-19 testing after waiting hours inOttawa

Kingston, Ont.,has tightened its distancing rules in city parksand increased fines. Queen's University says students who seriously break health rules could be expelled.

Ottawa will resumeticketing drivers who park longer than allowed in unmarked areasonOct. 1, with warnings starting Monday.

Quebechas similar reopening rules to Ontario, with its cap on physically distanced gatherings in public venues now up to 250 people, allowing smaller festivals.

That provincehas warned some regions are close to having gathering sizes shrunk andlosing dine-in service at restaurants.

Every local school board or service centre has started bringing students back. All classes should startby tomorrow.

More than 2,000 students in Ottawa's Englishschool boards don't have their usualschool busbecause of a shortage of bus drivers.

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.

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

WATCH | When getting a COVID-19 test is not as useful:

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Vera Etches, Ottawas medical officer of health, says testing should prioritize those who have symptoms or have been exposed to a positive case of COVID-19.

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

Ottawa Public Health says if youattend anindoor gatheringthat's not exclusively attended by people from your social circle, youshould wear a mask and keep a two-metre distance from others. At outdoor gatherings, wear a mask if you can't keep a two-metre distance from people outside your social circle.

Quebec has given police the power to fine people ignoring mandatory mask laws.

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

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

In Ontario, that's the same period of self-isolation for anyone with symptoms. When self-isolating, only leave home or see other people if it's critically important, such as to go see a doctor.

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.

Allergies or COVID-19? Medical official urges vigilance when it comes to symptoms

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Duration 0:52

Rob Cushman, acting medical officer of health for the Renfrew County and District Health Authority, said staff members at the now-closed Pembroke high school originally thought they had seasonal allergies before testing positive for COVID-19.

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 pinkeye. Children candevelop a rash.

People should not get tested any sooner than five days after potential exposure, since 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.

WATCH | Q&A withOttawa's medical officer of health

Where to get tested

In eastern Ontario:

Testing for the general public happensat one of four sites including anew drive-thru testing centrethat's unique because it's appointment-only.

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 hours at the Brewer Arena have been extendedand officials say more capacity is coming elsewhere.

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.

The University of Ottawa has a test site open weekdays by appointment at its Lees campus for students and staff.

There's also a mobile testing van operated by Inner City Health that mostly serves people experiencing homelessness and some tests done in hospitals.

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

Others in Alexandria, Rockland and Cornwall require 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 to register 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. Morehave been added to meet demand.

WATCH | Pembroke school staff withCOVID-19 symptoms thought they were allergies:

In western Quebec:

Outaouais residents now 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:

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.

In early September, it expanded its gathering limit to 50 people, then ended its curfew. Its schools start bringing students back next week.

Anyone in Tyendinaga who's interested in a test can call 613-967-3603 to talk to a nurse. Its office and well-being centre are now open by appointment.

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

Kitigan Zibi's fitness centre and playground park are opening up with restrictions..

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.