Restrictions continue to loosen on both sides of the Ottawa River

It's now been just over two years since the World Health Organization declared the global COVID-19 pandemic, and many institutions have been radically overhauled in that time — including Ontario's legal system.

In that time, Ottawa restaurants were closed for 323 days, nearly one day closed for each day open. Some of those businesses now say they're essentially starting over from scratch.

COVID-19 restrictions continue to loosen on both sides of the Ottawa River, with vaccine passports no longer in effect in the Outaouais. Several businesses there say they're relieved by the latest change.

After this week, masking rules will be lifted in most Ottawa establishments.

What are the numbers to watch?

Testing can't meet the general public's demand because of the contagious Omicron variant, meaning many people with COVID-19 won't be reflected in the case count.

Hospitalizations and wastewater monitoring can help fill in some of the grey areas. There's more information in our daily story on key numbers.

Ottawa

The average level of coronavirus in Ottawa's wastewater has been dropping this month.

There are seven Ottawa residents in local hospitals for treatment of active COVID-19, as of Friday's report from Ottawa Public Health (OPH). Two need intensive care.

If you include non-Ottawa residents in city hospitals with COVID-19, or people who are hospitalized for other reasons but happen to have tested positive, there were 38 patients as of the middle of last week.

Ottawa has had 64,027 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, and 752 residents have died from the illness.

The wider region

Communities outside of Ottawa have about 45 COVID-19 hospitalizations. About 15 of those patients need intensive care. These numbers, however, don't include Hastings Prince Edward Public Health.

Wastewater levels are rising or stable at sites in the Kingston area and stable or dropping in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties.

In the rest of eastern Ontario, 400 people with COVID-19 have died. The death toll is 288 in western Quebec.

More than 5.1 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the Ottawa-Gatineau region.

Rates of eligible eastern Ontarians with at least two vaccines range from 80 to 92 per cent and third dose rates for adults from 58 to 70 per cent. These numbers aren't regularly available for western Quebec.

What are the rules?

There are no longer any provincial proof-of-vaccination requirements or capacity or gathering limits in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

For now, masks remain mandatory for most people in indoor public spaces. Quebec's rules cover children aged 10 and up, except for students who are in class, while Ontario's rules apply to those two and older.

On Monday, March 21, masking requirements will be removed in most indoor settings in Ontario. All COVID-19 rules are expected to end April 27.

In Quebec, mask rules will be dropped everywhere — aside from on public transit — by a still-unspecified day in mid-April. That transit requirement is slated to end in May.

Mask rules may be different in places that fall under federal jurisdiction, like the Ottawa airport.

Ontario and Quebec isolation rules have loosened for some close contacts.

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