New presumptive case at school

There’s a new presumptive COVID-19 case linked to a school in western Newfoundland.

According to Monday’s update from the Department of Health and Community Services, the presumptive COVID-19 case was linked to Belanger Memorial School in Doyles in the Codroy Valley.

According to the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District website, the K-12 school was closed all day Monday. A government news release said there is no evidence of community transmission in the area.

Contact tracing is underway, which involves identifying any close contacts of the presumptive case. That includes school cohorts and close contacts, the release noted. Families who may be affected have been contacted and all close contacts have been told to self-isolate.

Newfoundland and Labrador reported three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday. A single case in the Eastern Health region involved a man between the ages of 50 and 59. It was linked to travel within Canada.

Of the two confirmed cases in the Western Health region announced Monday, one was a man between the ages of 50 and 59 and is related to travel within Canada. The other case was a woman between the ages of 20 and 39 who is a close contact of a previous case.

The release said contact tracing is underway and anyone considered a close contact has been asked to quarantine.

There were three new recoveries Monday, leaving 67 active cases of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador. The regional breakdown includes 41 cases in the Eastern Health region, 11 cases in the Central Health region, 14 cases in the Western Health region and one case in the Labradorgrenfell Health region.

A total of 136,298 people in Newfoundland and Labrador have been tested for the coronavirus. One person remains in hospital due to COVID-19.

Monday's update also confirmed that the origin of a new case first reported Saturday in the Western Health region has since been linked to a previous case.