7 new COVID-19 cases, more expected from western P.E.I. cluster

P.E.I. Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison announced seven new cases of COVID-19 at a briefing Tuesday morning.

Six of the cases are connected to a cluster in the western part of the province. One is still under investigation. None of the seven cases involved someone under the age of 19.

The first cases from the western cluster were detected on Nov. 17. They contributed to 17 new cases last week, the second most of any week since the pandemic started. There have been 12 so far this week.

"This situation continues to evolve and I expect there will be more positive cases in the coming days among close contacts who are currently isolating," said Morrison.

"It is concerning that transmission appears to happen very quickly and with minimal contact."

Morrison noted some of the cases announced Tuesday initially tested negative.

P.E.I. currently has 28 active cases, and has seen a total of 356.

Change for students on school buses

Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside was closed on Monday to allow for contact tracing and cleaning after a student tested positive.

Students who had been on some buses were held back from school, but Morrison said they will now be allowed to attend with a negative rapid test in the morning.

"We believe the risk of transmission is low," Morrison said.

Morrison said people in West Prince should be taking extra care. That means people who are feeling sick should stay at home, whether they have been vaccinated or not.

She asked employers to support this increased vigilance until they were certain the cluster was under control.

Vaccinations continue to be important

While the apparent ease of transmission in the West Prince cases is concerning, Morrison said, vaccinations are helping.

"Knowing that we have a high rate of vaccination in our population is a positive thing," she said.

"That will minimize the impact in terms of people getting really sick and [being] hospitalized. We don't want that to happen."

Getting everyone vaccinated is a major part of getting to the end of the pandemic, Morrison said.