COVID-19 on P.E.I.: What's happening Friday, May 7

Another case of COVID-19 was confirmed for P.E.I. on Friday, in a person with a recent history of travel. There were also three new sites where Islanders might have been exposed to the virus. 

The day before, public health officials had announced two more cases of COVID-19 on P.E.I. Thursday, along with three potential public exposure sites.

Islanders 50 and over can book an appointment to get the Moderna vaccine at one of 12 pharmacies starting Monday.

A P.E.I. man awaiting a second double-lung transplant in Toronto says he worries about contracting COVID-19, since it would almost certainly be fatal. 

A Green Party MLA thinks Island workers should get guaranteed time off to be vaccinated against COVID-19, just as their right to take time off to vote is protected without them having to fear repercussions.

Prince Edward Island's economy lost 800 part-time jobs but gained 500 full-time ones in April, 13 months after the COVID-19 pandemic started to cut into employment. 

An increase in business spurred by the pandemic has continued in the spring of 2021, say P.E.I. garden centres.

P.E.I. has 10 active cases of COVID-19. There have been 186 positive cases in total over the past 14 months, with two hospitalizations and no deaths.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic region:

• Nova Scotia announced 227 new cases of COVID-19 Friday, as well as the death of a woman in her 70s, bringing the province's overall toll to 70. Nova Scotia now has 1,464 active cases. Also on Friday, the province cracked down further on who can enter Nova Scotia and what people can and cannot do within its borders. 
• New Brunswick is reporting eight new cases, and has 140 active cases.
• Newfoundland and Labrador has seven new COVID-19 cases, and there are 63 active cases in the province. 

Also in the news

• Some of P.E.I.'s female prisoners are now serving their time at a facility in Summerside for young prisoners, rather than at the provincial jail, where crowding is a concern during the pandemic.
• With sales of its alcohol down about 70 per cent last year, P.E.I.'s Deep Roots Distillery says it was saved by the opportunity to make hand sanitizer. 
• Premier Dennis King, Dr. Heather Morrison and P.E.I.'s Chief of Nursing Marion Dowling all received their first doses of COVID-19 vaccine at a mass clinic at the Eastlink Centre in Charlottetown Thursday.
• Morrison spoke about the plan for vaccinating young Islanders at her weekly check-in Thursday with Compass host Louise Martin.

These Islanders are currently eligible for a vaccine

• People over 30.
• Islanders over 16 with underlying medical conditions, and all eligible members of their household.
• Pregnant Islanders.
• Front-line workers over 16 who interact with the public and cannot work virtually.
• People providing health-care services to the public — including optometrists, pharmacists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists — and their support staff.
• Health-care workers not on the front line needed to maintain health-care system capacity
• Firefighters, police officers, power-line workers.
• Residents and staff of long-term care homes.
• Adults living in Indigenous communities.
• Residents and staff of shared living facilities.
• Truck drivers and other rotational workers.

You can find more information about how to get a vaccine here.

Further resources

• Here is a chart of COVID-19 cases on P.E.I. since March 2020, and a timeline of pandemic events.
• Here is a look at how coronavirus is spreading across Canada.

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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