The province’s Chief Medical Officer says now that we have a confirmed case of the community spread of COVID-19, it is of the utmost importance that people stay at home.

Community spread means the virus cannot be traced back to travel or exposure to a known case. The patient who contracted the illness due to community spread has been confirmed to be in the Central Health region.

Eighteen new cases of the virus were confirmed in the province yesterday – 16 in Eastern Health, one in central health and one in Labrador-Grenfell Health. The total number of cases has now reached 120.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald is urging people to do their part to stop the spread by only going out for necessities such as groceries, medications, and essential work.

As well, she “cannot stress enough” the importance of staying home if you are experiencing flu-like symptoms. She says it is all of our responsibilities to flatten the curve, and our collective actions will determine how the situation evolves.

Meanwhile, Dr. Fitzgerald says they are closely monitoring another case in St. Anthony as a possible case of community transmission.

She says a patient was hospitalized at the Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital after testing positive for Coronavirus.

They understand the patient did not travel and was not in contact with a known case, so they believe this is also a case of community transmission.

Fitzgerald notes that contact tracing for that case is underway. A testing centre opened in the area yesterday to help with the increased demand.