P.E.I. reports two more COVID-19 cases linked to school outbreak, active cases rise to record 37
Health officials in Prince Edward Island announced two additional cases of COVID-19 on Thursday night, both linked to the outbreak at a Charlottetown elementary school.
In a release issued Thursday night, P.E.I. chief public health officer Dr. Heather Morrison announced the two cases linked to the outbreak at West Royalty Elementary, both in children ages 10 to 19.
One of the new cases involves a student at École La-Belle-Cloche in Souris who attended school on Thursday. École La-Belle-Cloche will be closed on Friday, Sept. 17 as health officials conduct comprehensive contact tracing and the school is cleaned extensively.
The province says all schools in the Public Schools Branch (PSB) and Commission scolaire de langue français (CSLF) have moved to elevated risk enhanced public health measures which includes masking for grades four through twelve and cohorting.
“This most recent case at École La-Belle-Cloche is connected to the West Royalty Elementary School outbreak and all close contacts at École La-Belle-Cloche will be called by public health to provide isolation and testing instructions,” said Morrison in a news release.
“Public health staff will be working to identify all of the close contacts. As always, it is important that we all follow the basic public health measures, including hand hygiene, physical distancing and staying home when not feeling well and get tested if they have any symptoms of COVID-19, even mild ones.”
The province says students, teachers, and staff who are identified as close contacts will be contacted directly by public health for isolation and testing instructions. Close contacts of this case will be asked to get tested on Monday, Sept. 20 at the Charlottetown Testing Clinic (64 Park Street) between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm or at the Montague Testing Clinic (14 Rosedale Road) between 9:30 am – 2:00 pm.
All students and staff at École La-Belle-Cloche who are not identified as close contacts should monitor themselves for symptoms, and if they experience any symptoms get tested and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
During a news update earlier Thursday afternoon, Morrison announced seven new cases, all involving close contacts of the outbreak at West Royalty Elementary.
Prince Edward Island currently has 37 active cases of COVID-19, the highest number of active cases in the province since the pandemic began, and has had a total of 270 positive cases.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.