COVID-19 on P.E.I.: What's happening Friday, July 10

Health PEI told employees in an email earlier this week thatall staff who come in contact with patients and who aren't able to physically distance must now wear medical masks. Officials say the province has enough masks to last eight ornineweeks, if staff use an estimated 100,000 masks per week.

Also on Friday, the government announced details on the reopening of a testing site for truckers and other essential workers in Borden-Carleton. It'llopen at noon on Monday, July 13 and will be open8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

Education Minister Brad Trivers gave more details to CBC News on how schools will operate in the fall students will not be required to physically distance in classrooms or on buses, he said, but may have to wear face masks in hallways.

Trivers was also part of an announcement Friday afternoon thatfederal, provincial and municipal governments will spend about $10 million for a new sports and community complex to replace the aging North Star Arena in North Rustico. The governments say this is the first of several announcements on the way to create jobs and boost the economy in the wakethe COVID-19.

The unemployment rate for P.E.I. climbed to 15.2 per centfrom 13.9 per cent in May, and more women were unemployed than men, according to Statistics Canada.

Nurses on P.E.I. said they are are starting to feel the pressure of there not being enough of them to go around, says the president of the P.E.I. Nurses' Union.

The P.E.I. Humane Society says dog bites are on the rise this year, and believeit's likely linked to more people staying at home because of the pandemic.

If you're having trouble getting a face mask following the Chief Public Health Office's strengthened recommendation for them, the Rotary Club gave some away free Friday.

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison gave an unscheduled briefing Thursday at noon to announce P.E.I.has one more case of COVID-19, a young man who was a close contact of someone from an existing cluster, bringing the active number of cases on P.E.I. to six.

P.E.I. has had a total of 33COVID-19 cases, with 27 considered recovered.

Also in the news

• P.E.I. has seen one confirmed death related to a fentanyl overdose since April, and another death is potentially related to the same powerful opioid drug, said Dr. Heather Morrison.
• After hitting a low of $0.70during the pandemic, the price of gas on P.E.I. is now back up over $1 per litre.
• The Canadian Mental Health Association on P.E.I. is offering its suicide prevention training program again, but it is now online.
• The opposition Liberals are calling on the province to provide increased funding to UPEI and Holland College to ensure tuition isn't increased and programs are not cut.
• The mayor of Souris, P.E.I., is hearing "quite a few"reports of Quebec residents visiting places they should not, in violation of COVID-19 pandemic rules
• Pandemic rule-breaking by spectatorsat a Summerside ball park could close down the venue, officials warn.

Further resources

• Here isinformation for livingwith the COVID-19 pandemic on P.E.I. including information on government relief programs, physical distancing measures, and essential health services.
• Here is achart tracking COVID-19 numbers and a timeline of COVID-19-related events on P.E.I.

More COVID-19 stories from CBC P.E.I.