COVID-19 has begun to penetrate the school system in metro.
Four new cases were confirmed in the province over the weekend, but it was the three-hour delay before yesterday’s update that had many on edge.
The daily numbers are usually released around 2 p.m. but it wasn’t until 5 p.m. yesterday that a single new case was confirmed. Officials later said the COVID situation is constantly changing and it can take time to ensure the information is accurate.
Two persons at Mount Pearl Senior High have tested positive so the school is preparing to switch to online instruction as Public Health conducts contact tracing. Extra-curricular activities have been put on hold, and Eastern Health is working with the school to determine who should be tested first.
Please note, the following memo from the District & @EasternHealthNL being shared with @HuskiesMPSH staff, families, & stakeholders this evening into tomorrow morning. More information will be shared with #nlschools as more is known. pic.twitter.com/paXrwHXCgi
— NLESD (@NLESDCA) February 8, 2021
Here’s what we know from Public Health: Sunday’s case involves a female in the Eastern Health region under the age of 19 with no source identified yet. The same goes for a female who tested positive Saturday in the Eastern Health region.
Officials also say the risk of infection for people who visited the Bigs restaurant in Mount Pearl between January 21 and February 4 is now considered very low.
Meanwhile, a temporary drive-through COVID clinic has been set up at 50 Mundy Pond Road, next to the Mews Centre, to meet an increase in demand for testing. An appointment is required. Hours have also been extended for drive-through clinics at the Janeway and Waterford Hospital, by appointment only.
As well, anyone who was on Air Canada Flight 7484 from Toronto to Deer Lake on January 30 should call 811 for testing in connection with a travel-related case Saturday in the Western Health region.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald has called a media briefing for this morning to discuss the virus, though a time has yet to be announced.
The investigation into the source of a cluster in the Eastern Health region is still ongoing, with six cases confirmed to date.
There are now 16 active cases in the province following two new recoveries in the Central Health region, and no one is in hospital with the virus.
