P.E.I. hits record active COVID-19 case count as province announces 21 new cases

P.E.I. announced 21 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, bringing the active case count to a record 89 cases.

The Chief Public Health Office said in a news release the new cases are under investigation and that contact tracing is underway. Anyone who is identified as a close contact will be contacted by the province with testing instructions.

The announcement brings the total number of cases the province has had since the pandemic began to 504.

Four new public exposure notifications were issued, including one at a screening of Spiderman: No Way Home in Summerside.

A flight notification was also issued.

Cases on the Island have risen exponentially in the past week. Eighty-nine cases have been reported in the last seven days, almost one fifth of all cases yet recorded in the province.

New restrictions have come into effect amid the rise in cases and the discovery of the Omicron variant on P.E.I.

Over the weekend, the province announced 13 new cases and over 50 exposure sites.

The CPHO also reminds Islanders personal gathering limits are now 10 people plus household members, and that these 10 people should not be attending several small gatherings featuring different groups.

"If attending a small personal gathering, it is always important to maintain physical distancing from those from outside of your household," the release said.

"Everyone is reminded of the importance of physical distancing, wearing a three-layer mask, getting tested when symptomatic and staying home when sick."

Whisperwood case tests negative twice

Meanwhile, the Whisperwood Villa resident who tested positive late last week has now had two negative results.

All contacts and staff at the seniors' home associated with the case have also tested negative. The case was believed to be the first positive case for a resident of such a facility in the province.

Following the positive test, the home was closed to all visitors until further notice.

"The resident is doing quite well, so we're extremely pleased with that," said P.E.I. Seniors Homes CEO Jason Lee.

"Doesn't mean that we can let our guard down, but it's certainly the best outcome we could've hoped for at this point in time."

Lee said they're in close contact with the CPHO and keeping them up to date. He said Whisperwood will loosen restrictions once it's deemed safe to do so.

The three tests were PCR tests.