During Sunday’s COVID-19 update, Health Minister John Haggie said the province is working on creating a map indicating locations where people have tested positive for the virus.
Haggie said the location information would not include street or civic address information. It will, however, indicate how many people in a given area have tested positive.
“One of our concerns has been to balance the need for public information against that of individual privacy of health information. And certainly when our numbers were small, it was difficult to present publicly information that would jeopardize someone’s individual privacy.
“We’re past the 200 mark now in this province, and I think there is a time now to revisit the idea of how we deliver our information, and how we present it.”
Haggie said one of the reasons these further details will now be released is to address the false notion that the virus is mainly a concern in St. John’s. He reiterated that every health authority across the province has cases.
However, he said just because the mapped data might not show the virus in a community doesn’t mean it’s not there.
“Assume the person next door has it, and work on that basis,” Haggie said.
Breakdown of positive cases by age:
Under age 20: 19
Age 20-39: 29
Age 40-49: 33
Age 50-59: 49
Age 60-69: 45
Age 70-plus: 42
Supply issues with test kits
Haggie said none of the province’s suppliers of testing equipment can guarantee delivery dates beyond next week, and that’s why the province is using the test kits it does have as wisely as it can — in case the next anticipated delivery of supplies never arrives.
This problem is not unique to Newfoundland and Labrador; Haggie said nowhere in North America has unlimited supplies.
Haggie was unable to provide the precise number of test kits the province currently has, but he said he can get the number. The Telegram requested that information after the teleconference, and the information was provided Monday afternoon that as of Monday morning, the province had 18,000 swabs for test kits.
“What we are doing is using those (supplies) wisely on the basis that tomorrow our next batch delivery of swabs, PPE, or masks may never arrive because if we don’t then we are not being good custodians of the best public interest,” said Haggie.
“We have to get the best effect we have from what we have, and if those supplies do not arrive — and until they actually land in our warehouses, there is absolutely no guarantee that any of our suppliers will actually be able to deliver.
“We have had support from the federal government. Some of our suppliers have delivered some of our requests, but as yet I don’t think any of our suppliers has been able to guarantee us dates beyond next week, and those dates are speculative from our point of view. We’re not counting any swab until it arrives in our warehouse.
“So, for the moment, focused testing is an accepted, time-honoured technique, it has yielded us the benefit and we will follow in line with best practices.”
New cases all in Eastern Health
On Sunday, the province’s chief medical officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald announced 14 new positive cases in the province, all within Eastern Health. She said contact tracing is ongoing.
That brings the province’s total number of positive cases up to 217: 207 in Eastern Health, three in Central Health, one in Western Health, and six in Labrador-Grenfell Health.
Of that 217, 167 can be traced to the Caul’s Funeral Home cluster.
As of Sunday, 10 people were in hospital due to the virus, and three of those were in intensive care.
The total number of people tested so far in the province is 3,565. Twenty-eight people have recovered.
Fitzgerald again stressed the importance of keeping physical distance from others as one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
She said the province is still in the early days of this pandemic, and it needs this time to prepare so it's ready to manage “the surge that will undoubtedly come.”
Anger with Trump
Meanwhile, Premier Dwight Ball used part of Sunday’s teleconference to express his anger with United States President Donald Trump’s request to manufacturer 3M to stop selling N95 face masks to Canada.
“To say that I am infuriated with the recent actions of President Trump in the United States is an understatement,” Ball said.
He said during the 9-11 terrorist attacks, people in this province took in thousands of stranded passengers without question.
“I cannot believe for a second in a time of crisis that President Trump would even think about banning key medical supplies to Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador will never give up on humanity. We will not hesitate for one second; if we had to repeat what we did in 9-11, we would do it again.
“This is a time when we need to work together to continue to protect our residents and to keep them safe from COVID-19 - no matter where they live, or what passport they hold.”
Haggie also addressed the situation with the United States, calling it “totally unpredictable,” and therefore, he said the province is looking at securing sources other than 3M.
Calls to halt travel to Labrador
On Sunday, the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay added its concerns to those of others, such as the Innu Nation, about travel to Labrador.
The town called for an immediate halt to all non-essential travel between the island and Labrador, and expressed concern with transient workers coming to work on projects.
Ball said anyone travelling to the Muskrat Falls site right now would be essential workers only.
He also said the province continues to tell people that non-essential travel is inappropriate no matter which region of the province they might be headed.
Children in care
Ball said the safety of children in foster care is paramount, and while parents are no longer permitted to visit their children in care to prevent the spread of COVID-19, he said there are some exceptions to this directive.
He said a breastfeeding child in care could be an example of an exceptional circumstance, adding it is a decision that rests with social workers who monitor these situations on a daily basis.
As well, much like schools are providing accommodations to students learning from home who may not have access to the needed technologies, Ball said ensuring families of children in foster care have resources to communicate with their children is something that could be considered.
“This virus and the situation is evolving, and so the services that we provide to children in care and to other people across our province, you know, we must make sure that the systems that we have ... can evolve as well.”
@juanitamercer_
This story has been updated.
