Health Department reports 5 new cases of COVID-19 in N.L.

Health officials are reporting five new cases of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador since the last public advisory, on Monday.

In a media release sent by the Health Department on Wednesday afternoon, the government said four of the new cases are in the Eastern Health region: three in people between 60 and 69, and one in someone under 20 years old.

All of those cases are males, two are contacts of previous cases, and two are related to international travel.

The remaining new case which is under investigation is in a woman in the Western Health region who is between 60 and 69 years old.

Health officials are doing contact tracing, and have advised anyone considered a close contact to quarantine.

With one new recovery, the total number of active cases in the province rises to 17 six in the Eastern Health region, and 11 in the Western Health region.

Meanwhile, the number of people who've been tested for COVID-19 is still not available, as the province continues to grapple with the effects of a debilitating cyberattack on the health-care system in late October.

The Health Department is still asking anyone, vaccinated or not, to get a test if they have even one symptom of the virus, and not just assume it's a cold.

"There has been community spread and outbreaks across the country because people were mildly symptomatic and did not get tested or limit their activity," reads therelease.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador