PEI

COVID-19 on P.E.I.: What's happening Thursday, Nov. 5

UPEI grads of 2020 will have to wait to walk across the stage in person to receive their diplomas, and Stratford is asking for almost half a million dollars in federal assistance to deal with COVID-19 costs.

O'Leary testing site now only testing Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons

Readers can now get a feel for the Journal-Pioneer in Summerside. (Steve Bruce/CBC) (Steve Bruce/CBC)

Municipal operations and services have to be done differently and cost more because of the pandemic, says the mayor of Stratford, P.E.I. The town has applied for $435,000 through the federal government's safe restart plan.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced P.E.I.'s climate change secretariat to delay some new programs in 2020, just as it was gearing up to find ways to meet the P.E.I. government's new emissions targets.

UPEI says the graduates of 2020 will have to wait until May 2021 for their convocation ceremony. 

P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin that new research showing some transmission of COVID-19 by aerosols or smaller particles that linger in the air mean people should avoid crowded indoor spaces. 

A new virtual health care program for Islanders without a family doctor hasn't had as much buy-in as Health PEI had hoped, which they say could help people during the pandemic.

Some businesses on P.E.I. are adapting to current public health measures as planning for staff holiday parties picks up steam and groups look to celebrate in a physically distant manner.

The COVID-19 drop-in testing site in O'Leary has changed its hours, now operating Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1 to 4 p.m.

Prince Edward Island continues to be the only province in Canada with no active cases of COVID-19. There have also been no deaths in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. The Yukon reported its first death Oct. 30.

Also in the news

  • The Unit 9 psychiatric ward at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Charlottetown has reopened after patients were relocated in the spring to make room for potential COVID-19 cases.
  • Communities across P.E.I. are preparing for physically-distanced Remembrance Day ceremonies.
  • There have been 64 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on P.E.I. and all are considered recovered. There have been no deaths, hospitalizations and no evidence of community spread

Further resources

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