After call with PM, premiers, Dennis King updates Islanders on fight against COVID-19

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King was in a three-hour conference call with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau Thursday evening and joined Mitch Cormier on CBC's Island Morning for an update on what was talked about.

The conversation started immediately after an interview with Liam Dolan, a local representative of Restaurants Canada, about what might happen this tourism season, that led to Cormier's first questions.

This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.

Are we anywhere near the bottom? Can you help us understand where things are after your conversation with the Prime Minister last night?

It's hard to really get a good accurate answer on that, Mitch. Every day I think we wake up hoping that we're at the bottom or very near. When you look at the Canadian perspective right now we're in a difficult challenge. When you look to our neighbours to the south that seems much more dire there. When you look at our border here in P.E.I. we seem to be more further advanced. But everything changes on a day-to-day basis. It's really hard to give you a solid answer on that but I really hope we're there or getting there very soon.

Liam [Dolan] told us he's got 110 kids there who rely on him for work every year at Peake's Quay. When will we be able to address their needs?

That's the question that was brought up last night on the call. On P.E.I., our three primary industries are agriculture, fisheries and tourism, and some of the financial programs being put in place by the federal government have been really good — but they seem to be directed at individuals. The people who provide the jobs also have a lot of fixed costs and a lot of hard costs that don't go away, and we need to be looking at that part of the industry as well.

Does P.E.I. have enough protective gear for health-care workers?

Prince Edward Island, we learned, is in and a little bit better shape than some, in particular Quebec and Ontario. We are feeling confident that we are OK. We have an order that's coming in the first of next week which will be gladly received, but many of our colleagues across the country are in some very serious situations — and it was difficult to hear some of that conversation last night — but it was heartwarming to know that we're all willing to rally here together with the federal government to address those challenges.

When that gear arrives how quickly does it get into the hands of the people who need it?

Extremely quickly. The one thing I'm really, really proud of is we do have a system that is set up to make sure the personal protective gear is distributed to where it needs to be the most. We have individuals from Health PEI, from the Department of Health, working with procurement officials so we know where it needs to go and it will get there quickly.

What about law enforcement officials, knocking on doors to enforce quarantine orders or at checkpoints at Confederation Bridge? Are you confident that those workers are going to be safe?

It's a worry we do have, and it's something that we talk every day with chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison about. Individuals who are on the frontlines have an important job to do. We also have a responsibility to keep them safe. It comes from a conversation we need to have each day, but also a recognition that we have to be doing everything we can to make sure not only that they are safe but they feel safe.

Are you willing to let us know what the modelling says? How bad could this get on Prince Edward Island?

That's something that's been very top of mind the last few days. From a P.E.I. perspective I know Dr. Morrison has been talking with Canada's chief public health officer Dr. Theresa Tam and her chief public health officials across the country. Dr. Tam is working on a modelling for Canada that should be probably released sometime next week. In P.E.I. we're doing the same.

It's a little bit different process here. Our inputs in Prince Edward Island for the modelling are challenging because thankfully we have a relatively low base of numbers. But all that said the public health and health information are confident that the information they're working on is solid. We'd like to be in a position at some point toward the end of next week to be able to release that. Our officials are studying very closely the information that was released by British Columbia.

Doug Ford told us last night that he'll be releasing something today so we'll study those numbers as well but the general consensus on the call last night was that this is important information that does need to be shared.

What changes when Dr. Morrison says we have community transmission? So far it's all been travel-related.

That's been a blessing. The interesting conversation I did have yesterday with Heather was that our strength in Prince Edward Island, our unique opportunity, is the fact that we're a small population. We are on an island so we can limit some of the travel, as we have been doing.

But the flip side of that is, as she said yesterday in her news conference, that we are the most densely populated province. So if there does happen to be community transmission here, that's a fear that we all should have and P.E.I. could potentially be like a big cruise ship. That's why we have been working so hard to do the isolation measures that we have, the distancing that we have. And I think more and more Islanders have been heeding that. It is the biggest concern we have here.

It's going to be sunny this weekend. What do you think might happen?

I am hopeful that Islanders will continue to heed the expert advice from Dr. Morrison and the health officials. I would love for people, if they need to be outside, to stay on their properties if at all possible. We ask people to stay at home to only leave home if you need to absolutely go. And we want this to continue.

We're in a really crunch time here and we need Islanders to dig in and to take this seriously. I know it's in our nature to want to get out and to move around, but if you really, really care about your neighbor if you really, really care about your family and your province we need you to stay at home.

New Brunswick made the decision yesterday close schools for the rest of the year. When will you make a decision on whether or not kids will be back in schools by the end of June?

A lot of factors would go into that. We're working on starting Monday with our online home-based type learning for now but officials in the Department of Education do have their eye on the real possibility that students in Prince Edward Island won't be going back to school in the calendar year. But we haven't made that decision yet. I assume we would be making that decision long before May 1st. But let's just see how the days go forward here. As always we will take the expert and calm advice from Dr. Morrison.

When will you be able to give us a timetable on when life would return to some semblance of normal?

Mitch, nothing would make me happier than to come on with you in the morning and say life is starting to return back to normal. There are two parts of this: There's the great hope that we do have and there's also the reality.

We can't let our guard down here. I think we're doing a really, really good job, but a lot of work remains. I know we all want to get back to even some semblance of what normal could be but that could still be a time off right now.

COVID-19: What you need to know

What are the symptoms of COVID-19?

Common symptoms include:

• Fever.
• Cough.
• Tiredness.

But more serious symptoms can develop, including difficulty breathing and pneumonia, which can lead to death.

Health Canada has built a self-assessment tool.

What should I do if I feel sick?

Isolate yourself and call 811. Do not visit an emergency room or urgent care centre to get tested. A health professional at 811 will give you advice and instructions.

How can I protect myself?

• Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
• Clean regularly touched surfaces regularly.
• Practise physical distancing.

More detailed information on the outbreak is available on the federal government's website.

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