PA pilot project to allow rotational workers in Newfoundland and Labrador to leave isolation after one week if they get a negative COVID-19 test result is slated to be reviewed next week.
But there are no plans on the horizon to expand that privilege to other travellers entering the province, Health Minister Dr. John Haggie said Tuesday.
The minister said a continued resurgence of cases in other parts of Canada — such as a one-day record of 700 in Ontario Monday and almost in 800 in Quebec Tuesday — means the travel crackdown will likely continue.
“I go out to the stores, people are wearing masks. I go out to public places and government buildings, people are wearing masks, and they’re doing their level best to keep their distance, and they are to be applauded for doing that.”
“There is a resurgence of COVID in areas where control was felt to have been achieved,” he said during the weekly COVID-19 briefing in St. John’s, which he conducted solo while the chief medical officer of health is on a break. “We are in an area where we felt COVID has been controlled but we still see sporadic cases, and we need to be forever on our guard about the possibility that this could come here in numbers such as we saw in March and April of this year.”
He said the province’s own experience, and that of other jurisdictions, is that incoming passengers usually represent Patient Zero for any community spread.
“So, travel has always been a source of intense scrutiny for our public health team.”
Any relaxation of measures would depend entirely on the epidemiology of the point of departure. Along with Ontario and Quebec, B.C. and Alberta are also seeing resurgences.
Local approach
But Haggie did say public health has changed its stance on regional as opposed to province-wide health measures.
At the beginning of the pandemic, Haggie and other health officials were adamant that localizing restrictions were not an option, as the virus can easily spread anywhere in the province.
They’ve since done a 180 on that, based on experiences here and elsewhere.
“Certainly, that would be our preferred route should we find ourselves in a similar situation,” Haggie said, referring to the way other jurisdictions are now handling outbreaks. “Depending on the pattern of the disease, should it come back, it may be possible to do it by community or by region.”
Long-term care
Meanwhile, Haggie said that although he didn’t personally attend a meeting with the union representing many of the long-term care workers in the province last week, he’s committed to finding ways to solve staffing woes.
In the medium term, he hopes increased enrolment spaces for personal care and licensed practical nurse training will start to pay dividends.
In the short term, he said the relaxation of the one-worker, one-home policy will help address staff shortages to some extent.
In conclusion Tuesday, Haggie said none of the province’s efforts to contain the virus would be again good without the continued vigilance of the population.
“I go out to the stores, people are wearing masks. I go out to public places and government buildings, people are wearing masks, and they’re doing their level best to keep their distance, and they are to be applauded for doing that.”
Peter Jackson is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering health care for The Telegram.
