COVID-19 on P.E.I.: What's happening Friday, July 9

P.E.I. has made the wearing of masks in indoor public spaces discretionary, based on your vaccine status and personal comfort with the level of risk, and changed the testing protocols at the border.

P.E.I. is down to 1 active case, and it's no longer mandatory to wear masks indoors

CBC News · Posted: Jul 09, 2021 6:45 AM EDT | Last Updated: July 9, 2021

A vehicle drives onto a ramp leading to the open nose cone of the passenger ferry Confederation. — Residents of Atlantic Canada with a PEI Pass no longer have to be tested when arriving on the ferry. (Submitted by Susan Brown)

Premier Dennis King announced at a briefing Friday the wearing of masks indoors is no longer mandatory, but it is still strongly recommended for those not fully vaccinated. At the same briefing, King said residents of Atlantic Canada with a PEI Pass will no longer be tested at the border.

An Islander now working with a pandemic research team at Oxford University says P.E.I.'s decision to prioritize young front-line workers for vaccination was "quite a smart move."

It's never easy for P.E.I. restaurants to find enough cooks, and the COVID-19 pandemic has made it worse.

Yet numbers released by Statistics Canada on Friday indicate the Island's unemployment rate jumped sharply in June, as more people entered the workforce looking for work, and there was a loss of 1,400 full-time jobs.

Access to walk-in clinics in the province became more difficult when the pandemic started, and it is still a challenge.

Exterior of emergency department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown. — Islanders without a family doctor who can't get into a walk-in clinic can turn next to the emergency department, but wait times there recently have been up to 10 hours. (Steve Bruce/CBC)

If you are looking for a tattoo on P.E.I., you might have to wait... and COVID-19 may be partly to blame.

The P.E.I. Pharmacists Association says uptake of the COVID-19 vaccines at pharmacies across the Island has been "very good" over the last few weeks.

P.E.I. has one active case of COVID-19 as of Friday, and has seen a total of 208.

Elsewhere in Atlantic Canada:

Nova Scotia reported one new COVID-19 case on Friday, and has 39 active cases.
Newfoundland and Labrador has two new cases aboard a cargo ship anchored in Conception Bay, and has 16 active cases.
New Brunswick has no new cases and the number of active cases has dropped to seven.

Also in the news

Gas prices are expected to continue to rise, driven by increased demand with the world economy recovering as it comes out of the pandemic, along with the regular higher summer demand.
The P.E.I. Pride Festival will include more in-person events this year.
Nearly 3,000 people from outside the Atlantic region had applied for a PEI Pass by midday Tuesday — the first day they were allowed to apply.
Charlottetown Rural High School valedictorian Brandon MacKinnon gave his graduating speech 11 times. And it was COVID's fault.

These Islanders are currently eligible for a vaccine

People over 12.
Islanders over 18 can book an appointment for Moderna vaccine at a pharmacy.

You can find more information about how to get a vaccine here.

Further resources

Here is a chart of COVID-19 cases on P.E.I. since March 2020, and a timeline of pandemic events.
Here is a look at how coronavirus is spreading across Canada.

Reminder about symptoms

The symptoms of COVID-19 can include:

Fever.
Cough or worsening of a previous cough.
Possible loss of taste and/or smell.
Sore throat.
New or worsening fatigue.
Headache.
Shortness of breath.
Runny nose.