Public Health officials have confirmed the province’s very first case of the Omicron variant.

Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says the single confirmed case is in the Eastern Health region.

She says the person travelled from elsewhere in Canada, and is isolating.

Public Health does not anticipate any onward spread from the case.

Thirteen new confirmed cases have been reported in the province.

Three are in the Eastern Health region, one is in Central Health and nine are in Western Health.

There are an additional eight new presumptive positive cases in the Western Health region.

Fitzgerald says it appears as though there is some community transmission in the Western Health region.

She indicates there is “a lot of work being done on the ground at the moment” in trying to determine if the cases are linked, but confirms that many of the cases are either linked, or contacts of previous cases.

There are currently 34 active cases in the province, with no hospitalizations.

Province Implements New Requirements For Travellers

Effective immediately, anyone returning or who has returned to the province from post secondary institutions elsewhere in Canada or internationally, must have a PCR test on arrival.

Student travellers can book a PCR test through the province’s online COVID assessment page.

If students opt not to be tested, they must self-isolate for 14 days.

Meanwhile, all travellers will be provided with take-home rapid test kits on arrival to the province, the details of which will be announced in the coming days.