Two days after becoming COVID-19 free, Newfoundland and Labrador has a new confirmed case of the disease.
Officials announced Friday that a woman under the age of 40 tested positive for the virus after arriving in St. John’s Aug. 6 on a direct flight from Toronto. The woman is not a resident, but was granted an exemption to travel to the province.
She is self-isolating and was not experiencing symptoms on the flight.
Nonetheless, the Department of Health and Community Services is asking people who traveled on Air Canada Flight AC690 departing Toronto for St. John’s on Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020, to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19. If symptoms develop, individuals are advised to call 811 for appropriate follow-up.
The province has had four cases of the disease in the past month, all related to travel or direct contacts of a traveller. The last of them recovered this week.
Public health workers are tracing contacts of this new case, and anyone considered a contact will be advised to self-isolate.
Health officials have repeatedly said they expect new cases to crop up occasionally and that they are not expected to alter strategies because of them.
To date, almost 26,500 people have been tested in the province for the virus.
