ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Amid growing pressure to present a plan for reopening parts of the provincial economy, Newfoundland and Labrador has to make sure tourists trickling in at the moment realize it’s not business as usual.
Several questions at Tuesday’s COVID-19 briefing in St. John’s centred around complaints from the Bonavista area of tourists taking in the sights with no apparent heed of the requirement to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.
The dilemma is heightened by the fact that tourism commercials approved last year were still airing up to March.
“The challenge is that the … award-winning tourism ads were paid for and bought before Christmas and they’re aired because they’re there,” Health Minister Dr. John Haggie said.
The minister said provincial ferries have been vigilant to ensure that all passengers are undertaking essential travel only, but Marine Atlantic crossings present a unique problem. Since Marine Atlantic is a federal Crown corporation, passengers can only be intercepted once they reach the province’s shores.
“It needs tightening up. I have no argument with that,” Haggie said. “We’re working on it and we’re trying to come up with something that makes sense yet isn’t overly prohibitive.”
While screening is more strict now, some passengers may have slipped through before the measure was added that they sign a declaration saying their travel is essential.
“Looking for a boat at a wharf to take you out to an iceberg is not, in my view, essential,” Haggie said.
The situation is now an enforcement issue, said Haggie, but he couldn’t resist adding a new twist on a local colloquialism.
“For the moment, given the fact there’s a pandemic, if you come from away, you best stay away.”
Still planning
Tuesday was another day of no new cases of COVID-19 in the province. There hasn’t been more than one case a day since April 17.
The cumulative total for the province remains at 258, and 222 of those people have recovered. There have been three COVID-19-related deaths, but the number of active cases continues to dwindle.
Haggie, Premier Dwight Ball and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald faced tough questions from reporters as to why the province hasn’t unveiled anything resembling a plan for phasing out some restrictions as some other provinces have done.
“We are working very diligently as I’m sure my eyes will say,” Fitzgerald said.
“We have been working non-stop on this for the past several days. It’s really important that we do it right. So, when we are ready, we will make that announcement, and it will be soon.”
How soon?
At one point the minister suggested it could be within two to four days.
“When it’s ready, it will be ready,” he said.
“Getting it right is extremely important to us,” Ball added.
Haggie emphasized that public health readiness is the most important concern.
“I think the fact is that you also have to look at the nimbleness of the 80 people in the province that are actually managing the nuts and bolts of pandemic and public health medicine at the moment. So, they immediately switch from crisis management to crisis maintenance to planning for the next phase, and I think that requires a different mindset.”
Haggie said he understands the impatience people may be feeling as other jurisdictions start talking about approaching a new normal.
“The rush to get back from where we are now into something else is driven by perfectly valid reasons, but they are not purely health ones,” he said. “Not to minimize them, but as I say from a health perspective that underpins this, the principles and the framework have to be as good as we can reasonably make them. They have to be right, not quick, and they have to be good, but not necessarily perfect to the point of paralyzing it. We walk a balance. I think we’re nearly there.”
In other developments Tuesday:
• All three expressed their commitment to safety in the workplace in recognition of the National Day of Mourning, and stood to observe a moment of silence.
• Fitzgerald urged residents not to ignore other elements of their health care and to follow up with their doctors and specialists when needed.
• Haggie encouraged municipalities and businesses that look after parks, campsites and golf courses to undertake repairs and maintenance as needed, as long as physical distancing is observed. They must, of course, remain closed.
Peter Jackson is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter covering health for The Telegram.
