Province unveils reopening plan
Interval between first and second vaccine doses will also be cut in half
Even as the daily case count hit double digits Wednesday, Newfoundland and Labrador has forged ahead with a reopening plan that will see travel and recreational activities gradually open up over the summer, and even put an end to the requirement of self-isolation.
The transition to the threestep plan begins with a transition period from June 15 to July 1, when the province expects 75 per cent of eligible residents will have at least one shot of vaccine that has been given at least two weeks to kick in.
“This all relies heavily on people getting vaccinated — here at home, and those coming to our province,” Premier Andrew Furey said Wednesday during a lunchtime live video briefing.
“Like everything during this pandemic, it’s fluid and dynamic. If there are any concerns, or any potential problems with variants or clusters popping up, we will absolutely consider changes, as we have shown we can do in the past.”
Throughout each step, the caps on formal and informal gatherings will gradually rise, and the requirement of selfisolation for travellers will slowly disappear.
A highlight of the summer will occur July 1, when the controversial travel ban on recreational travel to the province by non-residents will be lifted. The ban allowed numerous exemptions, but was unique to this province
Furey laid out some of the travel guidelines in his opening comments.
“Fully vaccinated Canadians will not have to get tested, or self-isolate. Partially vaccinated Canadians must present a COVID-19 PCR test result administered within three days of their departure date, or self-isolate following arrival until the receipt of a negative test result. Unvaccinated Canadians will still have to self-isolate for 14 days after arrival.”
Rotational and essential workers can follow the same rules, he said, but rules will still be more strict for workers coming from a site with a known outbreak of the coronavirus.
ADDRESSING FEARS
“I know the idea may seem a little scary to some, so I want to stress again that your health and safety is our topof-mind concern,” Furey said.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said she understands that many people will be apprehensive.
“I think it’s going to be a bit of a change and I think people are going to be nervous to start. But we saw this last year when we opened the Atlantic bubble,” she said. “People were very fearful, but once we got into it and people realized that it’s not as bad as what we had anticipated, things seemed to settle down and people were happy with it in the end.”
Fitzgerald said a cluster in the Central Health region appears to be under control, so only the Lewisporte-summerford area will remain at Alert Level 3. However, the government expanded the region in Western Health that is now at Alert Level 4 status, as a similar cluster there continues to grow. Both clusters have been identified as caused by the B.1.617 variant first detected in India, but are not necessarily related to each other.
Fitzgerald said the first step in the province’s reopening is a month away, so the plan is not premature.
She also emphasized that even if someone with one shot of vaccine catches the disease — as a few have — there is effectively zero chance it will be severe.
As for schools, Fitzgerald said that is going to be addressed separately.
“We didn’t have schools in the plan because schools are a very specific situation that we have to work through, and we obviously have to work with the Department of Education and the school district to make sure that we’ve developed plans that work for everyone,” she said.
But the province will move up the interval between first and second vaccine doses, according to new guidance from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.
First, people can choose whether they want the same vaccine or a different one. This would be of interest to those who received Astrazeneca, although Fitzgerald said the risk of getting a rare blood clot condition on the second dose is even smaller than the first.
More information on rebooking vaccination appointments will be released by the end of this week.