N.L. moving to Alert Level 2 on June 25, as COVID-19 caseload remains steady

As Newfoundland and Labrador marked another day without a new case of COVID-19 20 days, equalling the province's longest streak government said Wednesday it's speeding up the reopening plan.

Twenty days matches the province's previous longest stretch without a new case since the pandemic began, which ran from May 8-27.

The total number of cases in the province remains steady at 261 total cases, the province announced at its briefing Wednesday, with only one active case and nobody in the hospital recovering from the virus.

In all, 15,143 people have been tested for the virus, an increase of 222 since Tuesday.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said if "all continues to go well," the province will enter Alert Level 2 on June 25 a week from Thursday.

"Public health officials are working diligently to develop guidelines to support the reopening of more businesses and activities in Alert Level 2," Fitzgerald said.

She said those guidelines will be made available on the province's COVID-19 website in the coming days.

In Level 2, recreational facilities may reopen, including gyms, arenas, yoga studios and indoor pools. Playground equipment may also be used.

Regional health authorities will continue to resume some health-care services, and bars and indoor entertainment facilities, like cinemas and bingo halls, can reopen with reduced capacity.

Things like camping, visitation at health facilities and the reopening of performance spaces are still to be determined.

Fitzgerald said the work people in the province have put in to follow public health guidelines have kept numbers low and allowed the move down an alert level.

"We are here today because of you and the actions you've taken to keep you and your loved ones safe and the trust you've placed in our public health system," she said.

"As we learn to live with COVID-19, our public health officials will continue to balance taking the necessary measures with allowing ordinary life to continue as much as possible. Moving ahead to Alert Level 2 in the coming days will take the same co-ordinated efforts that have brought this stability back into our lives."

Larger gatherings possible

Fitzgerald said rules for gatherings could change in Alert Level 2 as well.

While there are no set rules about gatherings in Alert Level 2 posted on the government's COVID-19 website, she said public health officials consideringallowing gatherings of up to50 people, if held outside.

But Fitzgerald reiterated these wouldn't be parties, but more formal andproperly distanced gatherings.

"It's not like a party of 50 in your house;it's really about making sure that we're thinking about this in terms of some sorts of ceremonies or something like that where you would have adequate physical distancing," she said.

While he didn't give a specific size for gatherings, the premier urged people to keep following public health guidelinesto try to keep the number of cases low as the size of gatherings increases.

"We can put numbers in place and try and restrict numbers, but any time you get a gathering and any time you get, I guess, over two or three or whatever the number would be, there's a risk," Ball said.

"We've been successful simply because we've had good compliance in Newfoundland and Labrador. Just continue to be responsible, continue to use good common sense."

With church services also set to resume in Level 2, Fitzgerald said her office will be consulting faith leadersto determine recommendations.

As there are limits on the size of gatherings, she said, fewer people will likely be able to attend services. Singing, which has a higher risk for spreading COVID-19, will also have to be closely examined.

"There may be some changes to the way services will be able to be carried out, so there's a bit of discussion that has to happen," Fitzgerald said.

Province aims for 80% vaccination

As the province continues to move down through the alert levels, the government plansto keep Level 1 in effect until a COVID-19 vaccine is developed.

Fitzgerald said at least two-thirds of the population will have to get that vaccine to develop any kind of significant herd immunity among the population, but she says she's aiming to do better than that, and best the rates of uptake for the flu shot.

"We would like to get 80 per cent or more of the population vaccinated, that would be our goal. We've not had that kind of success with influenza, but I hope this year we will see improvements with our influenza rates [as well]," she said.

While she didn't want to predict when the final alert level would be lifted, Fitzgerald said the province's goal is an 80 per cent vaccination rate.

The chief medical officer was optimistic about reaching that goal, as she said the province has one of, if not the highest rates of childhood vaccination in Canada.

Ball agreed, and said the province was the second best in the country when it came to itsH1N1 vaccination rate.

Fewer briefings to come

Premier Dwight Ball says the provincial briefings will also be reduced to just one per week, with the next one coming June 24. He said the schedule will change again if there's an increase of cases, with more briefings if they are needed.

"It puts a fair amount of pressure internally on our public health officials. We just want to make sure they have necessary time to get a balance in their work life in coming to this panel, but also getting the information out."

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