P.E.I. extends mask mandate to April 28; one new COVID-19 death reported

Islanders will have to wear their masks indoors for a little while longer.

P.E.I. Premier Dennis King made the announcement during a news conference in Charlottetown Tuesday.

King said masks will continue to be required in indoor public spaces until April 28, based on the recommendations of Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison.

“We’ve always tried to do everything that we could do to help those who need it the most, and I think that is the spirit of what it means to be an Islander,” said King.

The provincial state of emergency is set to expire at midnight Tuesday and, for the first time since March 2020, King says it will not be renewed. However, legal orders will come into effect at midnight Tuesday to enforce the continued masking rules.

Even after April 28, King says it is likely masks will continue to be required in high-risk settings, such as hospitals, long-term care homes and public transit.

That being said, King noted the province is getting to a point when people will have to make their own choices.

“There will have to come a time when government will not need to mandate these things and the public responsibility will have to be something that individuals will have to take up.”

PROVINCE ENTERS STEP 3

Effective at midnight Tuesday, the following changes will come into effect on P.E.I.:

• The Public Health State of Emergency will be lifted
• No limits on personal or organized gatherings
• No limits on sport or recreational activities
• Wedding, funeral and stand-up receptions will have no capacity limits
• Businesses including retail stores, gyms, fitness centers, libraries, and museums will be able to operate at full capacity
• Food premises and licensed establishments can operate at full capacity
• No universal testing at points of entry. Testing at the Confederation Bridge will be voluntary until Oct. 28, at which time testing at points of entry will end
• Between now, and April 28, people arriving on P.E.I. will get an information handout and be offered rapid tests
• Close contacts of positive cases aren’t required to self-isolate, however, close contacts who develop symptoms of COVID-19 are encouraged to get tested at a Health P.E.I. clinic, and should isolate until results are available

Morrison said that after the public health state of emergency is lifted, an order under the Public Health Act comes into effect at midnight Tuesday and will mandate the following:

• People who test positive for COVID-19 must self-isolate. Those who are fully vaccinated, meaning two doses of an mRNA vaccine or one dose of Jansen, and kids under the age of five will need to isolate for seven days from the onset of symptoms, or a positive test, whichever is shorter.
• People who are older than five years old who are not fully vaccinated will be required to isolate for 10 days from the onset of symptoms or the date of the positive test.
• Masks will continue to be required inside indoor public places until April 28.

Morrison said that while it is not a legal requirement, it is “strongly encouraged” that household close contacts who live, work, or access services in a high-risk setting should get tested on day four after their exposure to COVID-19.

This includes health-care workers, first responders, long-term care or community care residents, members of First Nations communities, correctional staff and offenders, staff and residents of transitional homes, and staff and residents of mental health and addiction facilities.

Morrison said staff at long-term care and community care homes will continue to be tested daily before starting their shift using rapid antigen tests, regardless of their vaccine status.

For long-term care and community care, outbreak guidance on P.E.I. is being reviewed, Morrison said she anticipates being able to move to fewer restrictions for visitors and residents soon.

Morrison added that students and staff in the K-12 system and in the early learning childcare sector will continue to be asked to use rapid antigen screening tests three times weekly for the next few weeks.

COVID-19 CASES

Morrison is reporting one new death due to COVID-19 since the province’s last update on March 29. She said the person was over the age of 80.

“My sympathy to the family and friends of this individual and we all share in your loss,” said Morrison during Tuesday’s news conference.

There are 30 people in hospital with COVID-19, said Morrison, including three in the intensive care unit. Of those in hospital, 14 were admitted because of the virus, and 16 tested positive for COVID-19 on admission or during their stay.

Over the last seven days, 2,576 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded on P.E.I., including 401 cases Monday, said Morrison. The total case count on P.E.I. is 3,619, and over the last seven days, there’s been an average of 367 cases per day.

Morrison says there is an ongoing outbreak at the provincial correctional centre and a new outbreak at the Kings County Memorial Hospital in Montague, in addition to outbreaks in 11 community care and long-term care homes across the P.E.I.

Those include:

• Andrews of Charlottetown
• Andrews of Parkhill
• Beach Grove Home
• Burnside Community Care
• Colville Manor
• The Mount Continuing Care
• Lady Slipper Villa
• Margaret Stewart Ellis Home
• Prince Edward Home
• Villa Marguerite
• Wedgewood Manor

There are 34 childcare early learning centers with cases or outbreaks. Thirty-two of these centres are open, one is open with modified or reduced capacity, and one is closed.

Morrison said the BA.2 sub-variant is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 in Canada and is thought to be 30 per cent more contagious than the BA.1 variant.

Of the samples P.E.I. has sent to the national lab in Winnipeg, 36 per cent have come back as the BA.2 sub-variant.

On average, P.E.I. is testing more than 800 people at provincial testing clinics, plus an additional 200 per per day at hospitals. Thirty-five per cent of those tests have come back positive, which Morrison said indicates there is widespread transmission of COVID-19 throughout the province.

VACCINE UPDATE

Morrison said that, in the coming days, a fourth dose option will be announced for people who are in certain age groups and living conditions.

She urged Islanders who have not yet gotten a booster vaccine to do so, noting there are 45,000 Islanders over the age of 12 who have not gotten their vaccine or booster dose.

“As BA.2 transmission increases it is even more important to get your booster if eligible, and especially if you are at higher risk of severe outcomes,” she said.