8 new cases of COVID-19 on P.E.I. announced Friday

P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison announced eight new positive cases of COVID-19 on Friday.

In a written release, she said four of the cases are under the age of 10, two are in their 20s and two are in their 50s.

Two of the new cases are close contacts of previously announced cases linked to the outbreak at West Royalty Elementary in Charlottetown.

Six individuals recently travelled outside Atlantic Canada. Contact tracing is complete, and they are self-isolating.

The following public exposure notices were issued Friday:

• Atlantic Superstore(465 University Avenue, Charlottetown)
  • Monday, Sept. 13 from 3:30to 4 p.m.
  • Wednesday, Sept. 15 from noon to 1 p.m.
    
• Vogue Optical(5 Brackley Point Road, Charlottetown)
  • Wednesday, Sept. 15 from 1 to 2 p.m.

Anyone who visited these locations during these times should monitor closely for symptoms of COVID-19, and if any develop, visit a drop-in testing clinic.

There are also two flight notifications related to the cases:

• Air Canada flight 638 from Montreal to Charlottetown on Wednesday, Sept. 15.
• West Jet flight 630 from Calgary to Charlottetown onThursday, Sept. 16.

Anyone who travelled on these flights are asked to closely monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and if any develop, visit a drop-in testing clinic.

A public update on the results of the school-wide testing at West Royaltyhas been scheduled for Saturday.

43 active cases onP.E.I.

Public health measures implemented in response to the outbreak at West Royalty Elementarycame into effect Friday morning. Masks are once again mandatory in indoor public spaces and personal gatherings are limited to up to 20 people.

On Thursday, the province announced the cole La-Belle-Cloche in Rollo Bay would be closed for contact tracing after one of its students contracted COVID-19. That case has been linked to the West Royalty outbreak.

West Royalty has been slated to resume in-class teaching on Monday. Meanwhile, schools in the Charlottetown area opened their doors again Thursday.

There are 43 active cases in the province, the highest since the beginning of the pandemic, and there's been278 positive cases since the pandemic began.