The province has seen a recent uptick in COVID cases, prompting the Chief Medical Officer of Health to remind residents of the importance of getting your updated vaccine this fall.

The province has yet to roll out its COVID and flu shot vaccine campaign, but it typically takes place in October when supply is secured and delivered and the colder weather starts to set in.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says they have seen an increase in COVID cases in recent weeks.

She says that’s not unexpected, given a similar increase in cases across the country. Luckily, she says, they haven’t seen an increase in hospitalizations, the numbers of which have remained relatively steady.

The cases are being detected through testing of patients who present to the ER, through hospital admissions, in home care settings and through waste water sampling. Fitzgerald says the variants in circulation mirror those reported in other parts of the country.