What you need to know about COVID-19 in Ottawa on Sunday, April 26

PHOTO D'ARCHIVES AGENCE QMI, MAXIME DELAND

What's happening today?

One of the city's three emergency daycares for children of essential workers is back open after an ill employee tested negative for COVID-19. A second is set to reopen Monday.

A stretch of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway is also open this weekend for pedestrians and cyclists. While the pilot project is slated to end after today, the National Capital Commission has said it might be extended.

The federal government has announced a relief package to help small businesses with their rent, but there's concern locally among both businesses and those who speak for them that it might not do enough.

If you've got a patch of land at one of Ottawa's roughly 100 community gardens, get that trowel ready: the province has reversed course and decided the gardens are an essential service after all.

And while eight new deaths were reported Saturday, the number of people in Ottawa hospitals with COVID-19 continues to decline. That's important because it is a reliable metric to gauge how widely the virus is spreading in the community or not. The longer it takes for cases in hospital to double, the flatter the curve — and the closer Ottawa gets to seeing some restrictions relaxed.

How many cases are there?

There are now 1,110 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Ottawa and more than 1,800 in eastern Ontario and western Quebec.

The death toll in Ottawa has now risen to 52. The deaths of 39 people in Leeds, Grenville and Lanark counties, and four more in the wider region, have also been tied to COVID-19. 

From what we know, more than 700 people out of that regional total have recovered, but some local health units don't share that data.

Confirmed cases represent only a fraction of the actual number because of limited testing,though testing is slowly being expanded.

Distancing and isolating

Physical distancing remains in effect: avoiding non-essential trips, working from home, cancelling all gatherings and staying at least two metres away from anyone you don't live with.

WATCH: Ottawa community centre now open to support homeless

Anyone who has symptoms, travelled recently outside Canada or, specifically in Ottawa, is waiting for a COVID-19 test result must self-isolate for at least 14 days.

In Ontario, anyone in contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or is presumed to have COVID-19 must also self-isolate for 14 days.

Ontario also recommends people older than 70 and those with compromised immune systems or underlying health issues go into voluntary self-isolation. 

How daily life is changing

Waste collection is delayed for some Ottawa neighbourhoods this week because a city-contracted worker tested positive for COVID-19.

Municipal parks are only open to walk through, provincial and national parks are closed and authorities are watching for gatherings in many communities.

CBC Ottawa has mapped out parks where people have been fined for breaking COVID-19 rules— Britannia Park tops the list.