COVID-19 cases spiking in western Newfoundland as testing in school begins
About 50 cases tied to cluster
A rapidly emerging COVID-19 cluster in the Deer Lake region of Newfoundland has officials working to navigate the contagious Delta variant.
On Wednesday the cluster had 36 cases, but on Thursday morning Dr. Monika Dutt, medical officer of health for western and central Newfoundland, said that number is closer to 50.
"We had a number of people who were presumptive positive, meaning they were tested on our rapid test, and then we got their confirmed PCR test back from the lab in St. John's and we're able to say that they're confirmed," Dutt told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning.
The majority of cases are in Deer Lake, with some in Corner Brook and the surrounding area.
The Delta variant has also affected several schools in the region.
Classes at Elwood Elementary in Deer Lake are suspended for Thursday and Friday after an individual connected to the school tested positive for COVID-19, and there have been exposure notices shared each day as far back as Saturday. The school will instead open to serve as a testing facility for students and staff beginning Thursday.
Cases have also been identified at Elwood Regional High School, Xavier Junior High in Deer Lake, Pasadena Academy, Pasadena Elementary and Eastside Elementary in Corner Brook.
Dutt said cases are cropping up through regular activities, such as sporting events and gatherings, which are allowed as the province has eased some public health restrictions. Infections are also spreading through the younger population, she said, as many kids under 11 still aren't fully vaccinated.
In considering tightening public health restrictions, Dutt said, officials are trying to limit the impact on areas where transmission of COVID-19 has not been seen. She said officials are taking a targeted approach rather than imposing sweeping restrictions.
"Primarily I'm trying to encourage people around social gatherings, consider whether you need to have that social gathering. If you do, try to keep it to consistent people that you would normally be gathering with," she said.
"We haven't seen transmission in businesses, and restaurants and place where the alert levels often have quite an impact. That is something I'm really conscious of, trying not to create negative impacts when they're not needed to really contain the virus."
Round 2
Deer Lake Mayor Mike Goosney said the town has worked closely with Premier Andrew Furey — the district's MHA — and public health to stay on top of the situation, but added there is a degree of uncertainty in the community.
Deer Lake faced a previous outbreak in November 2020, one that also saw cases connected to its schools.
"People are starting to become fatigued. It doesn't feel as if the anxiety levels are as high, but they are high obviously when it gets into schools and there's a lot of parents wondering," Goosney said.
"In this case there's a lot of youth and children that seem to be impacted this time around. So trying to get people to stick to facts and not stir up the rumour mill is some of the challenge, but that's to be expected."
The Corner Brook Minor Hockey Association has also cancelled all activity for the rest of 2021.
Association president Darren Harvieux said he hopes cases will subside in the new year and teams can get back to playing games. A potential exposure notice was shared at the Hodder Memorial Recreation Complex on Saturday — a venue teams in the association travel to.
"It did weigh on our minds, and we didn't really want to be in that situation," he said. "We just wanted to make sure that everyone can sort of get into the holiday season without any troubles in regards to COVID.… Everyone is sort of taking a cautious approach."
Some businesses in the region have already shifted away from in-person service in favour of takeout or curbside pickup.
Keith Goulding, president of the Corner Brook Board of Trade, said businesses have been able to pivot before, but there are challenges.
"It's coming on us now so quickly that business owners are just watching the reports with a bit of bated breath," he said.
"I think it's critical that everyone remains calm. I think that we have to take the measures and do the right thing. We adapt.… Whatever we can do to keep the economy moving and businesses open for business, we need to be able to do that."
With files from Colleen Connors and Alex Kennedy