CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — The man at the centre of a cluster of coronavirus cases on P.E.I. was self-isolating to the best of his ability, said Dr. Heather Morrison.
There are no new cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) today, announced P.E.I.’s chief public health officer who was joined by Premier Dennis King to provide an update on the COVID-19 pandemic Monday.
“All five cases are Islanders and are not related to seasonal residents or the Atlantic bubble,” said Morrison.
Three cases were identified on Saturday and another two on Sunday which brought the total number of active cases on P.E.I. to five.
One was an essential worker, a man in his 50s, who is not part of the cluster.
"COVID-19 has not gone away.” - P.E.I. chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison.
The other four cases can be traced back to a man in his 20s who returned from Nova Scotia on June 29.
All close contacts of these latest two cases tested negative for COVID-19, said Morrison. All close contacts are self-isolating for 14 days. The Island man was contacted by staff at Vision Research as part of Operation Isolation.
“Given we can identify a probable source of infection for each of the active cases, there is no clear evidence of community spread of COVID-19 at this time in the province,” said Morrison.
The P.E.I. resident travelled to Nova Scotia where he had close contact with a man who had recently arrived from the U.S. and was unknowingly carrying COVID-19, said Morrison.
The two men knew each other, they travelled in the same vehicle and stayed in the same place, said Morrison.
The Chronicle Herald reports the man was a U.S. citizen travelling through Nova Scotia on the way to P.E.I.
He did not have the proper documents and was turned away at the Confederation Bridge, said Morrison.
He is now in Nova Scotia in a 14-day quarantine under federal authority.
“It’s interesting to note that the case here in Prince Edward Island, and I believe the case in Nova Scotia, had no symptoms or certainly very mild symptoms,” said Morrison.
Around 20 to 25 per cent of COVID-19 cases experience no symptoms but can transmit the virus, said Morrison.
GOOD TO KNOW:
The man at the centre of the newest cluster of COVID-19 cases was doing his best to self-isolate after returning from Nova Scotia before the Atlantic travel bubble, said Dr. Heather Morrison.
“We appreciate that can be difficult,” said the chief public health officer.“It’s a good opportunity to talk about what self-isolation actually is.”
Self isolation is:
- Staying on home property. In an apartment, use physical distancing in shared spaces
- Living in a separately from others in the home
- Not sharing a bathroom
- Not sharing eating utensils
One of the cases announced on Saturday was a woman in her 20s who went to work at Whisperwood Villa on June 30. She had no close contact with residents and went home as soon as she began to feel ill.
All residents at Whisperwood Villa have been tested and nearly all the staff. All tests have been negative, but everyone will be re-tested beginning July 8.
“The sensitivity of the test goes up by doing two tests so many days apart,” said Morrison.
Several precautions were put in place at Whisperwood Villa after the staff member tested positive and will remain on effect until the second round of testing in complete.
After 67 days without a new case, Islanders were beginning to hope that the virus would not come back and that life was returning to normal, said Morrison.
“Border screening has played an integral role in how we as a province have managed this pandemic. I anticipate some type of border screening will be in place for P.E.I. for the foreseeable future. COVID-19 has not gone away,” said Morrison.
“We do know that the measures we have put in place the last number of months have made a difference in decreasing the risk of COVID-19 and the virus spreading in Prince Edward Island and they will continue to do so.”
Posted by Prince Edward Island Government on Monday, 6 July 2020