NORTH SYDNEY — Public Health officials have warned passengers of 33 Marine Atlantic ferry crossings they were potentially exposed to COVID-19.
The crossings were scheduled from Dec. 29 to Jan. 16.
During a live-streamed press conference Friday, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang recommended all passengers on those particular routes get tested, although he stated the risk to passengers is low.
“We are also sending out direct distribution of the notification to truckers — because they are a main component of these ferries — through their employers and through the trucker sector council,” he said. “We are asking all those people on aboard those number of crossings to come forward and be tested.”
The routes in question are listed at http://www.nshealth.ca/covid-exposures.
On Wednesday, one crew member from Nova Scotia was identified as testing positive for COVID-19 and since then a second crew member from Newfoundland has tested positive.
Both employees worked the same 15-day shift on the MV Blue Puttees, which ended last weekend.
Strang said they are working closely with Marine Atlantic and Public Health in Newfoundland to conduct testing. So far, Strang said two cohorts of crews have been tested and there has only been the one additional case.
“Fifty-nine of the 60 we tested are negative, which is very good news.”
In an earlier story in the Cape Breton Post, Marine Atlantic spokesman Darrell Mercer said since April 1 they’ve transported more than 127,000 passengers and this is the first instance where they’ve been made aware of a positive COVID-19 case.
RISK LOW
Dr. Austin Zygmunt, a public health resident doctor who is working with Nova Scotia Health Public Health, said there have not been any positive cases detected in the Marine Atlantic passengers as of Friday, but they have released the recommendations that passengers get tested out of an abundance of caution.
He said they think the risk of exposure to the passenger is very low because Marine Atlantic has put in very good public health measures throughout this pandemic to keep passengers safe.
“Because in Nova Scotia we have good testing capacity and we want to find every single case of COVID out there, we’re recommending that anyone who travelled on the ferry on those dates to go to get tested," he added.
When investigating these cases it was determined the two crew members were on the boat the whole 14 days.
“We know they picked it up while they were on the ferry,” he said. “That’s why we want to do this big notification from Dec. 29 to Jan. 16 so that anyone that was on the ferry at that time would go to get tested.”
Zygmunt said Nova Scotia is one of the only jurisdictions in the world with such a small number of cases.
“But we do have cases all over Nova Scotia in all zones,” he said. “So COVID does exist everywhere so everyone needs to have that mindset that they’re not 100 per cent protected, they need to be mindful it does exist in our communities and that they are taking the right precautions like wearing a mask, washing hands, and going for testing if exhibiting symptoms.”
VIRUS REMAINS
Marla MacInnis, a spokeswoman for Nova Scotia Health and Wellness, said exposure notifications are an important reminder that while our COVID-19 numbers are low, the virus remains in our province.
“By continuing to be diligent in adhering to public health protocols, all Nova Scotians can play a role in minimizing its spread,” said MacInnis in an email response to questions. “This includes wearing a mask, physical distancing, proper hand hygiene and adhering to gathering limits. We also encourage all Nova Scotians to take advantage of asymptomatic testing.”
MacInnis said there will be rapid testing pop-up clinics in Cape Breton this week.
The testing will be Thursday at the Cape Breton University Canada Games Complex from 1-6 p.m. Rapid testing is offered for those over age 16 who do not have symptoms, have not travelled, have not visited a potential exposure location and have not been in contact with someone who has tested positive.
