P.E.I. reports one person in hospital for COVID-19 treatment, 129 new cases Wednesday

Prince Edward Island is reporting 129 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday and 13 new recoveries, with 526 active cases in the province.

The new 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.

Dr. Heather Morrison, P.E.I.’s chief public health officer, says a person, between 60 and 79 years of age, is in hospital receiving treatment for COVID-19.

“The majority of our cases, approximately 90 per cent, are experiencing symptoms so this is a key indicator of infection with the virus. Although we do have our first individual receiving treatment in hospital, most of our cases identified in this wave are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms and are doing well,” said Morrison.

“It is extremely important that anyone experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, even if those symptoms are mild, get tested at a Health PEI drop-in clinic.”

LIMITING TESTING

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.

VACCINATION UPDATE

As of Saturday, Dec. 25, 95.4 per cent of eligible Island residents age 12 years and over have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 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.