Health officials say Prince Edward Island has ‘first real wave’ of COVID cases

Prince Edward Island’s chief medical officer is raising concerns about the recent number of COVID-19 cases in the province.

Dr Heather Morrison said the 69 COVID-19 cases reported in PEI over the past three weeks represent 17% of all cases on the Island since the start of the pandemic.

“In many ways, this is our first real wave of COVID,” she said at a press conference in Charlottetown on Tuesday. “This is not a situation we want to be in as we head into the holiday season.”

Morrison announced five new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, bringing the number of active cases in the province to 23. She said the latest cases involved three children under 12, one in in their 20s and one in their 50s.

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She said six cases linked to an outbreak at the Ecole La-Belle-Cloche in Souris were reported over the weekend, and schools would remain closed for the rest of the week.

Morrison said she is concerned about the reported cases in eastern Kings County. “It looks like there is community transmission in that part of the province because we can’t link some cases together to travel,” she said.

Officials plan to test further in the area on Wednesday and Thursday and ask children between the ages of five and 11 as well as those involved in organized sports to visit the testing clinics.

Court operations in Charlottetown were suspended Tuesday after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. The outage means the coroner’s investigation into the deaths of a PEI mother and her nine-year-old daughter has been adjourned. Close contacts, including court staff, are being tested and ordered to isolate until further guidance from health officials.

This Canadian Press report was first published on December 7, 2021.