N.L. reports 2 new cases of COVID-19, moving total cases over 300
CBC News | Posted: November 14, 2020 6:01 PM | Last Updated: November 14, 2020
Health Department reports error in announcement of Friday's new case
There are two new cases of COVID-19 being reported in Newfoundland and Labrador on Saturday, moving the province's cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 301.
The province now has eight active cases, with four deaths 289 people having recovered since March.
The first new case is a woman in the Eastern Health region between 20 and 39 years old, the Department of Health said in a media release. The case is travel-related, and the woman, a resident of Newfoundland and Labrador, returned to the province from the United States.
The second new case is a woman in the Western Health region between 20 and 39 years old. This case is also travel-related, and the woman is a resident of the province who was returning from Ontario.
According to the media release both people have been self-isolating since arrival and contact tracing is complete for both cases. Close contacts have been advised to quarantine.
The Health Department said the Western Health case is a close contact of a new case reported Friday, a man who also returned home from Ontario. The woman is a member of the same household.
There was also an error in the reporting of the new case on Friday, according to the department.
"There was an inadvertent reference to Central Health, instead of Western Health, as the region where yesterday's case was located in the notification provided to the department by Western Health," reads Saturday's media release.
"Upon realizing the error, Western Health immediately notified the department."
The public advisory issued Friday should have referenced a case in Western Health, not Central Health. The Department of Health said the other details provided on the case are accurate.
"The department is reassuring the public that there was no delay in the contact tracing process or any negative impact on the individual as a result of the error. All close contacts have been notified."
In total, 56,476 people have been tested in the province as of Saturday afternoon, according to the media release. Of those, 290 people have been tested in the last 24 hours.