Newfoundland and Labrador is reintroducing travel restrictions for children under 12, requiring them to stay home from school, daycares and sporting events and away from vulnerable populations for at least a week after they arrive back in the province.
The province’s acting chief medical officer of health said Wednesday that if children aged five to 11 get a negative COVID-19 test after Day 7, they can return to school, but they must continue to avoid after-school programs as well as long-term care homes.
Dr. Rosann Seviour says children younger than five don’t have to get tested as long as their parents are tested on Day 7 or later, but they must abide by all of the restrictions and stay home as much as possible for the two weeks after they arrive.
Seviour reported 16 new cases in the province today and 164 active reported cases, including seven people currently hospitalized due to COVID-19.
Dr. Proton Rahman, Memorial University’s associate dean of clinical research, says about 80 per cent of the province’s current cases are linked to the Delta variant, and more young children have been infected in the province’s latest outbreaks than in past outbreaks.
Just over 80 per cent of eligible Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, which was government’s original vaccination rate goal, but Health Minister John Haggie says the Delta variant demands a vaccination rate closer to 90 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 29, 2021.