HALIFAX -- Prince Edward Island is reporting no new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, though health officials say two previously reported cases have been confirmed as the B.1.1.7 variant, originally identified in the United Kingdom.

In total, the island has reported 13 variant cases, all of which are the B.1.1.7 strain.

"In other words, 70 per cent of our recent sequenced samples have been positive for this variant," Dr. Heather Morrison, P.E.I.'s chief public health officer, said during Tuesday's COVID-19 briefing.

P.E.I. currently has 11 active cases of COVID-19.

To date, the province has had 177 positive cases of the novel coronavirus.

VACCINE UPDATE

As of Saturday, April 24, 49,896 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 10,291 were second doses.

To date, 29.7 per cent of adults have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Public health on P.E.I. say they remain on track to vaccinate everyone who is eligible to receive their first dose by the end of June.

"There is good reason to be concerned given the situation around us," Morrison says.  "We remain vulnerable in P.E.I. until our vaccine rollout is complete and we've achieved our objective of having 80% of island residents immunized with vaccine."

ADDITIONAL TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

Health officials on the island also announced Tuesday they are beefing up their testing measures for travellers coming to Prince Edward Island within Atlantic Canada.

Anyone returning to P.E.I. from another Atlantic province and is self-isolating, is required to be tested at least three times.

Tests will be administered on days zero to one, four to six and nine to 11. The changes align to meet the same requirements for people traveling both domestically and internationally.

COVID ALERT APP

Canada’s COVID-19 Alert app is available in Prince Edward Island.

The app, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or Google Play, notifies users if they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

COVID-19 SYMPTOMS

Prince Edward Island provides a list of possible COVID-19 symptoms on their website, which include:

  • new or worsening cough
  • shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • fever/chills
  • sore throat
  • runny nose, sneezing, congestion
  • headache
  • muscle/joint/body aches
  • feeling unwell/unusual tiredness
  • acute loss of sense of smell or taste

Other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea have been reported, but typically along with other COVID-19 symptoms, and may be seen more often in children.

This is a developing story and will be updated throughout the day.