P.E.I. reports 118 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday

Prince Edward Island is reporting 118 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Public health says the cases are still under investigation and contact tracing is underway. Anyone identified as a close contact will be contacted with instructions on testing and isolation requirements.

The province did not provide an update on recoveries, hospitalizations, or the current active case count on Tuesday.

The province is continuing to preserve the limited capacity of Health PEI testing clinics by limiting testing to the following:

• Symptomatic individuals
• Close contacts identified by public health
• Confirmatory tests for individuals who test preliminary positive at a point-of-entry
• Confirmatory tests for individuals who test preliminary positive with a rapid antigen test

Islanders are urged to get tested if they experience any symptoms of COVID-19, even after a previous negative test, and to self-isolate until the results come back.

Health PEI says those who do not have symptoms do not require testing.

The Montague testing site will be closed Thursday, Dec. 30. due to lab capacity.

TRAVEL RELATED TESTING

Health PEI says those who are presenting for testing related to travel will be provided with at home rapid antigen test. Individuals will receive two tests to be taken 48 hours apart.

Travellers leaving the province who require a NAAT rapid molecular point of care test for travel can only access these at the Charlottetown Airport. These tests are not available for this purpose at Health PEI drop-in clinics. Currently PCR testing to meet travel requirements in certain countries is not available in P.E.I.

VACCINATION UPDATE

As of Saturday, 95.4 per cent of eligible Island residents age 12 years and over have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 92.2 per cent are fully vaccinated with two doses and 41.9 per cent of children age five to 11 years have received their first dose.

Anyone age 12 and over can receive their COVID-19 vaccination at one of the Health PEI clinics or at one of the 28 partner pharmacies across the province. Island children between the ages of five and 11 years can now receive their COVID-19 vaccination at Health PEI clinics.