P.E.I. premier says province is working to reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis

HALIFAX -- The three Maritime provinces have all announced sweeping measures, closures, and public restrictions to curtail the spread of COVID-19.

Premier Blaine Higgs declared a state of emergency in New Brunswick on Thursday -- the first of the Atlantic premiers to do so. While Prince Edward Island has yet to declare a state of emergency, the province is under a health emergency.

“After SARS and H1N1, the teeth in the Public Health Act was really enhanced,” says P.E.I. Premier Dennis King. “So the fact that we are at a state of public health emergency gives us many of the powers, gives our public health officer many of the powers that other provinces need a full state of public emergency for.”

King has been leading his government’s response to the pandemic from his home in Brookfield, P.E.I.

The premier has been in self-isolation since returning from a trip to Boston. King says he believes the vast majority of Islanders understand the seriousness of the situation and know how important it is to heed the advice of government and health officials.

However, when P.E.I. announced the closure of the province’s liquor stores, King says social-distancing seemed to go “out the window.”

“That was a little bit disappointing, but we did work through that. With many issues in this, we’re trying to get more right than wrong,” says King.

Despite the closures, there will still be ways for Islanders to purchase alcoholic beverages.

"We recognize that alcohol-use disorder, alcoholism, impacts many families on P.E.I., and alcohol withdrawal is a danger. So, we would never leave Islanders without access to alcohol for their own health," said Dr. Heather Morrison, chief health officer for P.E.I.

Morrison says options like pick-up, delivery, and drive-thru, are all being explored.

Morrison says two positive cases of COVID-19 had been identified in P.E.I. as of Friday morning. The province had completed 240 tests as of Friday morning, with two positive cases and 167 negative tests. Seventy-one tests are still pending.

“At the outset of this we were looking at about a 24-to-36-hour turnaround. We are probably now at a 36-to-48-hour turnaround,” says King. “We do understand that the national lab in Winnipeg is overwhelmed right now dealing with a lot of these.”

King says the province is working diligently to setup a preliminary test that they hope will be able to alleviate some of the pressure at the national lab.

King says the province is working to reduce the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis and is working closely with all of the Island’s industries to gauge what will work best to help the recovery process.

“We’ve been looking at it from two perspectives, the immediate shock, the economic shock and getting money into the hands of those who need it immediately, and trying to best position our industries to get through the recovery process,” says King.

The message King wants to leave with Islanders is to continue to heed the advice of the chief public health office.

“Follow those advisories, act accordingly, and we will get through this. We will get through this sooner, rather than later, if we follow that advice.”