COVID-19 on P.E.I.: What's happening Saturday, June 27

Charlottetown's public pools open for the season on Saturday.

The Victoria Park pool will operate seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. The Simmons pool will be open every day from 1 p.m. to 7:45 p.m.

Phase 4 of P.E.I.'s ease-back plan began Friday, which includes larger public gatherings.

Under guidelines set out by the Chief Public Health Office, both pools will operate on a limited capacity and swims will be split into one-hour allotments.

All users will be required to sign in with the gate attendant and provide their name and telephone number for contact tracing. There will be no change rooms available for use at either pool.

The Victoria Park pool will be limited to 35 people per swim and Simmons pool will be limited to 45. When a swim time reaches capacity, individuals may sign up for the next available swim.

Some organized and recreational sports, such as baseball, soccer and basketball, are also getting under way. Up to 50 people are allowed to gather, possibly 100 at larger venues.

Some full-contact sports are still not permitted, including martial arts, boxing, wrestling, tackle football, rugby and hockey with checking.

The casino at Red Shores also opened this weekend. However, the poker and table games remain closed because due to physical distancing rules.

Island Waste Management is accepting residential blue bags and recyclables at no charge on Saturday mornings. 

Some P.E.I. residents are questioning why the Atlantic bubble is taking place before loosening restrictions for those living in long-term care facilities on the Island.

A federal clawback of Canada emergency response benefit payments could leave some Islanders without income for the last half of June, says the P.E.I. Green Party.

P.E.I. has had 27 confirmed cases, the most recent on April 28. All have recovered. More than 10,000 COVID-19 tests from P.E.I. have been done.

Also in the news

• The P.E.I. government is postponing plans for a free, half-day pre-kindergarten program for four year olds, and is now aiming for next September instead. 
• Owners at some of P.E.I.'s larger restaurants say the current COVID-19 restrictions limiting them to 50 patrons at a time could have a negative impact on their businesses once the Atlantic bubble comes into effect on July 3.
• The four Atlantic provinces have agreed to open their borders to each other on July 3, the Council of Atlantic Premiers announced Wednesday in a news release.
• Some Islanders are keen to get on the highway after that announcement.
• While P.E.I. will open its borders, it won't be the "free-flowing traffic" of the pre-COVID-19 days, said Premier Dennis King.

Further resources

• Here is information for living with the COVID-19 pandemic on P.E.I. — including information on government relief programs, physical distancing measures, and essential health services.

• Here is a chart tracking COVID-19 numbers and a timeline of COVID-19-related events on P.E.I.

More COVID-19 stories from CBC P.E.I.