P.E.I. has 1 new COVID-19 case, but premier hails 'nice flicker of hope'

P.E.I. is reporting one new case of COVID-19, a man in his 30s with a recent history of out-of-province travel.

Dr. Heather Morrison, P.E.I.'s chief public health officer, announced the new case during her regular COVID-19 briefing Tuesday.

The man travelled on Air Canada Flight 8302 from Montreal to Charlottetown on Jan. 4. Anyone on that flight should continue their two weeks of self-isolation and monitor for symptoms.

P.E.I. has had 103 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began in March. Eight remain active. There have been no deaths or hospitalizations.

On Tuesday, Premier Dennis King said that with the two weeks since Christmas passing without an uptick in cases, there is a "nice flicker of hope" that P.E.I. could begin easing some restrictions within the province. He said the restrictions would be eased within the province before out-of-province travel restrictions are lifted.

He said the province is closelymonitoring the situation in New Brunswick, which has reported 65 new cases in the past three days and has 214 active cases.

Morrison said the easing of restrictions on P.E.I. could begin by Jan. 25, and include higher limits on the number of people at personal gatherings, as well as public gatheringssuch as sports events and faith-based services.

"We've done so well and come so far," she said. "It's my personal plea, and shared by the team: Now is the time for us to really stick with it and follow these measures for a bit longer, and nowis not the time to throw caution to the wind."

Morrison said that by the end of thisweek, all long-term care residents and staff on P.E.I. will have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.By the end of next week, she expects everyone living and working in community care will get their first dose.

So far, she added,4,226 first doses of one of the two approvedCOVID-19 vaccines have been given on the Island.

"To date, thanks to the support and resilience of Islanders, we have been able to meetall the challengespresented by COVID-19, and our health system is not under duress and we continue to have access to a full range of health-care services including elective procedures."

Reminder about symptoms

The symptoms of COVID-19 can include:

• Fever.
• Cough or worsening of a previous cough.
• Possible loss of taste and/or smell.
• Sore throat.
• New or worsening fatigue.
• Headache.
• Shortness of breath.
• Runny nose.

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