Dr. Rosann Seviour, the acting Chief Medical Officer of Health of Newfoundland and Labrador, announced 14 new cases of COVID-19 in the province on Tuesday. (Patrick Butler / Radio Canada)
Newfoundland and Labrador added 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, all in the Central Health region, where cases continue to rise.
Dr. Acting chief medical officer of Health, Rosann Seviour, told reporters Tuesday that all new cases are being investigated, adding that there was also a suspected positive case in the same area.
The province also reported 10 more recoveries, Seviour said. Two of these are in the Eastern Health region, six in Central Health, and two in the Labrador-Grenfell Health region.
The number of active cases rose slightly to 159-143 of them in the Central Health region.
Due to COVID-19, there are currently four people in the hospital.
“We continue to see communion transmission within the central region of this province. This, combined with several other clusters over the past few weeks, represents a significant demand for our frontline public health resources for contact tracing, ”said Seviour.
“When the public health capacity is overwhelmed, it is a signal that we need to step up our public health action.”
Due to a continued increase in COVID cases in NL and epidemiology across the country, the province is making changes to the travel restrictions that will come into effect at 12:01 pm on Thursday.
Any traveler who is partially vaccinated, ie who does not receive more than one dose, must now meet the same requirements as those who are not vaccinated. You will need to isolate yourself for two weeks, but will be able to take a COVID-19 test on days seven to nine of your isolation period.
If this test is negative, that person can leave isolation.
Check out the full September 28 update:
The province is also suspending the Atlantic bubble, Seviour said, which means travelers from the Atlantic provinces must follow the same rules as people traveling from other regions.
“An Atlantic bubble was low risk in the summer when the entire region had a similar epidemiology. That is changing and we are gradually seeing an unfavorable epidemiology across the region as a fourth wave continues across the country,” she said.
There won’t be any change for travelers crossing the Quebec-Labrador border, according to Seviour. People who live in the border communities and have not left the region in the last 14 days are still allowed to enter the province without completing the travel form.
Seviour said people are still allowed to travel to NL, but the changes made will reduce the risk of importing COVID-19 and give the province breathing space to take control of the current outbreak on their home turf.
Vaccination certificate is taking shape
After double-digit infections had been reported for days, the government and health authorities begged the public on Tuesday afternoon to schedule a vaccination appointment if they had not already done so.
Seviour said the emerging evidence for the Delta variant suggests that a dose of the vaccine alone does not provide adequate protection.
While 80 percent of the province’s eligible population are given two doses, the Delta variant pushes the threshold for herd immunity higher to around 90 percent, she said.
She said the two-dose rate is absent in the 20- to 39-year-old age group that is grappling with jurisdictions across Canada.
Only 66.4 percent of 20-year-olds are fully vaccinated, while 79.8 percent are receiving a dose. People in their thirties got fully vaccinated at 69.6 percent and 81.1 percent hit a similar mark with one dose.
Given the Delta, the province is developing its plan to introduce a vaccine passport, which Prime Minister Andrew Furey confirmed will be mandatory for non-essential activities when finished.
Digital Government Minister Sarah Stoodley called the passport “another tool in the toolbox” that will help keep residents safe and businesses open.
It’s a certified proof of vaccination that grants access to a store or venue via a digital QR code or physical copy printed on paper or a card.
“When the solution is ready, it will be in the form of two smartphone apps. One smartphone app for local residents and one for business, ”said Stoodley.
“Every resident who is fully vaccinated or has an approved medical exemption will receive a COVID-19 vaccination pass in the form of a QR code.”
For those without internet access or a printer, Stoodley said a number will be provided where people can call and request that their QR code be mailed to them.
Newfoundland and Labrador Prime Minister Andrew Furey called on people to educate themselves about vaccines during a COVID-19 briefing on Tuesday. (Patrick Butler / Radio Canada)
Consultations with businesses began Tuesday, Stoodley said.
The official launch will be next week, including the name and full disclosure of the details.
“It’s important that you guard it like your MCP card when you get it,” Stoodley said.
“It’s kind of personal, it’s important that you protect it.”
Stoodley said the NL apps will be safe in terms of personal data protection as no information is stored.
Furey said penalties are still being considered for companies failing to comply with the passport but “are consistent with other jurisdictions”.
More changes are coming
During his opening speech on Tuesday, Furey said the province was in talks with unions to make vaccines mandatory for civil servants.
“As a government, we see it as our responsibility to protect the people we serve,” he said.
“Most want to have input on where we are going with it and what it will actually look like. The general feeling was very receptive.
“We definitely didn’t want to take this path, but first and foremost we have a responsibility to the public and that’s why we made this decision.”
Furey said that another media talk with Dr. Proton Rahman, a clinical scientist at Eastern Health and a professor of medicine at Memorial University, will be held to discuss current COVID-19 modeling for Newfoundland and Labrador.
