Longer quarantine for snowbirds
Morrison advises against March break travel; no new cases announced for P.E.I
International travellers will still be required to quarantine in P.E.I. for 14 days, even after completing a three-day hotel quarantine mandated by the federal government, P.E.I.’s chief public health officer announced Wednesday.
This means that snowbirds returning to P.E.I. from spending the winter months out of the country will face a combined 17-day quarantine, in addition to being required to spend as much as $2,000 to quarantine in hotels near international airports in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary or Montreal. Travellers will also require a negative COVID19 test result before they can leave the quarantine hotel.
The federal measure was announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last Friday, but the start date for the measure remains hazy. Trudeau said the new travel quarantines will limit the importation of UK or South African variants of the COVID-19 virus, which are significantly more contagious.
Travellers crossing the U.S. border by car will be exempt from the three-day quarantine.
“They will still be required to isolate in P.E.I. for 14 days. That will be at a hotel and they will be tested regularly after arriving in this province," Dr. Heather Morrison said during a media briefing on Wednesday.
“Now is not the time to be travelling domestically or internationally."
Morrison specifically warned against travel offIsland during the coming March break period.
No new cases of COVID-19 were announced on Wednesday. No cases of the UK, South African or other variant strains have been detected in P.E.I. to date.
"We must stick to our game plan of limiting the importation of the virus into the province,” she said. “COVID19 moves when we move.”
The warning comes as health authorities announced individuals aged 80 and over could begin booking vaccination appointments as of today, by calling 1-844-9753303.
"You will be offered an option in several locations for clinic appointments, and they will be spread across P.E.I.," said Health P.E.I. chief of nursing Marion Dowling.
Rotational workers and truck drivers who have registered with the province will receive a call soon to schedule vaccination appointments.
All residents of long-term and community care facilities have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Officials expect to administer second doses within all but one long-term care facility by mid-February.
A total of 7,856 individuals, or five per cent of P.E.I.’s population, have received a first dose of the vaccine; 2,568, or 1.6 per cent of the population, have received their second dose.
National delays in the vaccine supply chain have slowed down P.E.I.’s immunization efforts. P.E.I. did not receive its expected supply of 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine last week, and next week’s shipment of the Moderna vaccine will be reduced by 500 doses. This week’s shipment of 975 doses of the Pfizer vaccine was received Tuesday.
P.E.I. public health officials say rapid testing may soon come to P.E.I.
The tests can be administered in public settings and can provide results in minutes, in a manner far quicker than lab tests. Health officials in Nova Scotia have begun training restaurant and bar staff in how to administer the tests. The CEO of the Charlottetown Airport has suggested rapid testing will be a necessary component in allowing a future return of normal travel.
On Jan. 20, Morrison had told a standing committee that rapid tests did not have the “sensitivity or specificity that we’re comfortable with,” in comparison to lab PCR tests.
A Jan. 27 Global News story noted that the P.E.I. government had described rapid tests as being “not considered safe for use”.
Despite this, the federal government has sent 37,728 rapid tests to P.E.I.
On Wednesday, Morrison said she had received an update on Tuesday from federal authorities. She said lab PCR tests are still preferred.