For the first time in over the month, the province is today reporting no new cases of COVID-19—leading to a change in alert levels as of this weekend.
Starting at 12:01 a.m., Saturday morning, the Avalon region is moving to Alert Level 4, while the remainder of the province is moving to Alert Level 3.
Public health restrictions were imposed one month ago when the UK variant of the virus was confirmed as case numbers soared in an outbreak linked to community spread.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald’s tone was more buoyant as she announced the news in today’s briefing.
(Submitted photo.)
“We do not have an indication at this time of undetected community transmission,” says Fitzgerald. Testing volumes and the percentage of positive cases are “also trending in the right direction.”
There are six new recoveries, leaving 74 active cases in Newfoundland and Labrador, including three people in hospital.
Fitzgerald cautioned that the risk of importation of COVID-19, including the variants, is a continuing concern.
No new cases have been reported through asymptomatic testing that started last week, and they expect to close those testing sites by Friday.
Adjusting Restrictions Under Alert Levels
With the rapid spread of the B117 COVID variant fresh in everyone’s minds, public health restrictions will be eased very slowly says Dr. Janice Fitzgerald.
While it appears as though the variant has been contained in Newfoundland and Labrador, the same is not true outside the province, and the risk is always there that it may be introduced again.
Restrictions have been adjusted in each alert level, knowing that the variants put the province in a very different place than it was when the Alert Levels were initially developed, says Fitzgerald.
View up to date information on restrictions under each Alert Level at the provincial government’s COVID-19 information page.
While travel within the province is not prohibited, she’s asking that travel be limited as much as possible. She recognizes that activities like visiting the cabin or going on a snowmobile trip have a positive mental health impact, but she asks that people go straight to their destination and pack enough supplies so they don’t have to stop along the way.
Those living outside the Avalon in Alert Level 3 will be permitted to have a total of ten close, consistent contacts—and she’s asking people to keep their contacts low.
That’s not ten contacts per person, that’s ten for the entire household. “Your tight ten” is a phrase Fitzgerald is asking people to remember. That “tight ten” does not include school cohorts, health care professionals, or co-workers.
