Communities from Lewisporte to Summerford are heading into Alert Level 4 as of midnight tonight due to a cluster of cases of COVID-19 in the Notre Dame Bay area.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says there are seven confirmed cases, seven presumptive cases, and one probable case.
She says while all of the cases appear to be linked, there is no confirmed source at this point. She explains that this indicates that there is community spread in the area, but they don’t know the full extent at this time.
Dr. Fitzgerald notes that there will be increased testing established as part of the response. Central Health will be establishing community testing in Lewisporte, more information about that will be released by the health authority in the coming days.
She says more people have been coming forward with symptoms in the area recently, and is encouraging anyone with symptoms to get tested.
Earlier Story
Central Health is investigating a cluster of recent cases of COVID-19 cases as the province heads into the long May 24 holiday weekend.
There are ten new confirmed cases of the virus in the province—seven of which are in the central region. The source of the Central Newfoundland cluster, which includes another four presumptive positive cases, is under investigation.
One of today’s confirmed positive cases is in the Eastern Health region, and two are in the Western region. There are four people in hospital.
Contact tracing is underway and those affected have been asked to self-isolate.
There are 70 active cases of COVID-19 in the province with 12 recent recoveries. A recent presumptive positive case in the Western Health region has turned out to be a false positive.
Public Health is encouraging residents to be safe and remember that public health recommendations and restrictions are still in place over the May 24 long weekend.
- Wear your mask in indoor public spaces;
- Keep your social interactions to those in your steady 20; and
- Maintain at least six feet distance from people who are not your close contacts.
