The NL Task Force is working on an effective point of entry COVID-19 screening test for people returning to the province, but health officials say fourteen days of self-isolation continues to prove a very effective public health measure.

Health Minister John Haggie was responding to questions about COVID-19 screening tests for rotational workers and others entering the province from outside the bubble.

All of the cases of COVID-19 reported in the province in the last few months have been related to travel, prompting questions about implementing point-of-entry testing.

Haggie says they’ve made adjustments to allow rotational workers greater freedom to get out and about, but rotational workers still present a risk.

He says the province’s last two positive cases involved rotational workers working internationally and the province’s COVID-19 test is to confirm a diagnosis but is not meant as a screening test.

Haggie says until an effective screening test is broadly available and recommended by national and international public health officials, then self-isolation will continue to be used.