N.L. reports 10 new COVID-19 infections, as active case number climbs to 81
More than 200,000 people now have at least one dose of vaccine
There are 10 new cases of COVID-19 being reported in Newfoundland and Labrador on Wednesday, with the majority related to travel and the remainder close contacts of previous cases, according to the province's top doctor.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald also reported six more recoveries, leaving the province with 81 active cases as of Wednesday's pandemic update.
A worrying increase of cases at Belanger Memorial School in Upper Ferry, in the Codroy Valley, on Newfoundland's west coast, prompted Fitzgerald to introduce new health restrictions for southwestern Newfoundland.
While travel continues to drive new cases, she said, the virus has spread outside house bubbles, including in the Upper Ferry case.
"We now have three known cases associated with a school in the Codroy Valley area, and Western Health is encouraging anyone in the area to get tested for COVID-19 regardless of if they have symptoms or not," she said.
"While we do not have any evidence that there is widespread community transmission in the region, there has been clear spread among contacts."
Given that fact, and the fact those cases are coronavirus variants, Fitzgerald issued a special measures order to move communities from South Branch to Port aux Basques, including the Codroy Valley and Rose Blanche-Harbour le Cou, to Alert Level 4, effective midnight.
Fitzgerald said the move will give public health the ability to carry out its investigation and conduct communitywide testing in the region, while also reducing the risk of further spread of the virus. She said the decision will be revisited in one week.
Meanwhile, across the province, one person is in hospital due to the virus, with 137,037 people having been tested to date.
New testing requirements
Fitzgerald also introduced new testing requirements for travellers to "improve surveillance" and fight further COVID-19 spread.
Effective midnight Saturday, all travellers five years old and older will be tested according to their self-isolation arrangements, said Fitzgerald.
Asymptomatic travellers who can self-isolate are now required to be tested once near the end of their two weeks of isolation, on days 11, 12 or 13.
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"Fully isolating away from others means staying in a separate dwelling or a completely separate area of the home with a separate bedroom and bathroom and no contact with anyone else in the dwelling," Fitzgerald said.
Asymptomatic travellers who cannot isolate themselves from others are required to be tested twice during their two weeks in quarantine. Fitzgerald said the first test should happen upon arrival or within the first two days and again near the end of the isolation period.
This applies to travellers isolating themselves in a home where others are living, and where there is no separate bedroom or bathroom. In these cases, the entire household must self-isolate, Fitzgerald said.
There will be an option where travellers can avail of a COVID-19 test during days 7, 8 or 9 of their quarantine period, and at Day 7 or later, household members can also seek a test.
Health Minister John Haggie said Wednesday that while the majority of the province's new cases are travel-related, they're coming from people who have to travel, who he said are following Fitzgerald's guidelines.
"I think it behooves us all, however, to continue to do that because the end is in sight," he said.
The new testing protocol does not extend to rotational workers coming from non-outbreak sites.
"Currently our risk remains high as other jurisdictions in Canada continue to experience significant community spread," said Fitzgerald.
"Most, if not all provinces, are starting to see a reduction in new confirmed cases, which is an indication that things are moving in the right direction. We expect that we will continue to see a steady influx of cases from travel in the coming weeks and we all need to remain vigilant."
Vaccine rollout moves to Phase 3
A bright spot during Wednesday's briefing came with Fitzgerald's announcement that all of the province's regional health authorities have shifted their vaccine efforts to Phase 3 of the rollout.
This phase will include anyone over 12 years old who is clinically vulnerable to the virus, as well as anyone over the age of 40. Premier Andrew Furey, who is 45, said Wednesday he was happy to be able to book his first shot.
Fitzgerald said eligibility will be expanded on Friday to anyone over 30 years old.
On Monday, the remainder of the eligible population — people 12 years old and up — can book a vaccine appointment.
More than 200,000 people have now received at least their first dose of vaccine. Fitzgerald said 100,000 of those were administered in the past month, and it's expected that by the end of June the entire eligible population will have been offered at least one dose.
"In the coming months we should start to see the balance shift in our favour as more people in our country and our province are vaccinated and protected against COVID-19," said Fitzgerald.
Haggie said there are 34,000 doses in inventory, which will see the province through the end of the week. Another 34,000 doses are expected to arrive at the end of the week.
Fitzgerald said the province will no longer be offering the AstraZeneca vaccine as a first dose, following a trend seen in other parts of the country where the vaccine is related to rare cases of blood clots. Newfoundland and Labrador has administered 26,361 doses of AstraZeneca so far out of the 32,100 it has received. Currently, there are 5,739 doses unused, and 1,480 of those are set to expire on May 31. The remaining 4,259 doses will expire on June 30.
