P.E.I. has 2 new cases of COVID-19, total of 7 active cases
No plans to reopen Atlantic bubble yet, Premier Dennis King says
P.E.I. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison confirmed two new cases of COVID-19 on the Island at her regular public briefing Tuesday morning.
One is a woman in her 20s who recently travelled outside of Atlantic Canada, and the other is a woman in her 40s who is a close contact of a previous case on the Island.
Both women are self-isolating at home and contact tracing is underway.
There are currently seven active cases on the Island, and there have been a total of 110 since the pandemic began. There have been no deaths and no hospitalizations.
Morrison also said 5,910 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered as of the end of Monday, including 1,407 second doses.
No bubble re-entry for now: King
Premier Dennis King opened the weekly briefing.
He said he wanted to remind Islanders how lucky they have been to have experienced such a minimal impact from the pandemic so far.
He noted while most jurisdictions in North America have been locking down further recently, P.E.I. is expecting to soon ease restrictions further following the circuit breaker restrictions put in place in early December.
That could include higher numbers being allowed at public gatherings "in the days ahead," he said.
King also addressed the possibility of opening up provincial borders to Atlantic Canada again.
"At this time as a province, we are not comfortable re-entering the Atlantic bubble," he said.
King said he wants to see a dramatic reduction in the number of new cases in the region.
31 new cases in New Brunswick
New Brunswick announced 31 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday afternoon, for a total of 316 active cases, as well as one additional death. Nearly 2,000 New Brunswickers are self-isolating at the moment.
There were four new cases reported in Nova Scotia, where there are 22 known active cases.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases, but has five active cases at the moment.