P.E.I. reports 7 new COVID-19 cases, issues new exposure notifications

P.E.I. announced seven new cases and issued several new public exposure notifications on Sunday.

Two of the new cases involve children under the age of 12, four are in their 20s and one is in their 70s.

Five of the cases are close contacts to previously announced cases, and the other two are related to travel outside of the province.

There are 37 active cases in P.E.I. and there have been 420 cases in total since the pandemic began.

The province issued 15 new public exposure site notifications, most of which are in Charlottetown.

Sunday, Dec. 5:

• Walmart(511 Granville Street, Summerside) between 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m.

Monday, Dec.6:

• Blue Goose Restaurant(18790 Trans-Canada Highway, Crapaud) between 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m.
• John Brown's Richmond Street Grille(132 Richmond Street, Charlottetown) between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tuesday, Dec.7:

• Receiver Coffee The Brass Shop(178 Water Street, Charlottetown) between 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• St. Eleanor's Irving(82 North Drive, Summerside) between 11 a.m. and 12 p.m.
• Kinkora Irving(62 Anderson Road) between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Wednesday, Dec. 8:

• Holland College Gym McMillan Centre for Community Engagement(323 Grafton Street, Charlottetown) between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m.
• Olde Dublin Pub(131 Sydney Street, Charlottetown) between 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
• Lawton's Drugs Sherwood Centre(100-161 St. Peter's Road, Charlottetown) between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.
• Going Fishing(161 St. Peter's Road, Charlottetown) between 5:45 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.

Thursday, Dec.9:

• Holland College Gym McMillan Centre for Community Engagement(323 Grafton Street, Charlottetown) between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m.
• Slaymaker and Nichols Gastro House(82 Fitzroy Street, Charlottetown) between 5 p.m. 7 p.m.
• Merchantman Next Door(23 Queen Street, Charlottetown) between 7 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
• Churchill Arms(75 Queen Street, Charlottetown) between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Friday, Dec.10:

• Olde Dublin Pub(131 Sydney Street, Charlottetown) between 4 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Anyone who was at these locations at the given time who isn't fully vaccinated should get tested and monitor for symptoms.

Two flight exposure notifications were also issued.

• FlairFlight 8309 from Toronto to Charlottetown on Friday, Dec. 10
• Air Canada Flight 8218 departing Montreal on Friday, Dec. 10 and arriving in Charlottetown on Saturday, Dec. 11

The province is reminding all returning travellers they should get tested on day 4 after their arrival to the province.

Charlottetown clinic backed up

Earlier on Sunday, theCOVID-19 testing site in Charlottetown stopped accepting new arrivalsan hour earlier than usual.

Health P.E.I. said in a release the clinic wasseeing high volumes and was backed up. It stoppedletting people in at11 a.m.

Islanders have recently been experiencing long lineups at the sites, with a surge in cases in eastern P.E.I. having increased the demand for COVID-19 tests.

On Thursday, Islanders had to wait up to three hours to get tested following the closure of testing clinics in Montague and Souris due to weather.

The province said testing clinics will be open asusual on Monday, but asked Islanders to be prepared for long waits.

"Please be patient and prepare for longer waits as we continue to experience high volumes of people requiring tests due to the current cases across the province," Health P.E.I. said.

The province said people identified as close contacts, those with symptoms and unvaccinated individuals who have been at public exposure sites during the given times are priorities when it comes to testing.

Some postoffice staff in Souris self-isolating

Meanwhile, Canada Post says its Souris post office is temporarily operating under reduced staffing after some of its employees were directed by the province to self-isolate.

Canada Post said in a statement the staff members will be required to do so until at least Dec. 16. There is a recent surge in cases in the area.

It said it will continue to operate regular hours, but customers may experience longer waits.

Canada Post asks Souris residents to consider going to the nearby postal outlet at Elliott's General Store, or the postal offices in St. Peters Bay and Morellto buy postage or packaging products.

The office will continue to hold items for customers who are self-isolating until they are able to pick them up.