COVID-19 pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador

The COVID-19 pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of August 1, 2020, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador has the eighth-most confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
First outbreak	Wuhan, Hubei, China
Arrival date	March 14, 2020[1] (5 months and 2 days)
Date	August 2, 2020
Confirmed cases	266
Active cases	4
Hospitalized cases	0
Recovered	259
Deaths	3
Government website
Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

Timeline

March 2020

On March 14, a presumptive case was announced in the province.[1]

On March 16, the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District announced suspension of in-person classes for K-12 students in the province.[2]

On March 24, a woman was arrested in Corner Brook for violating public health emergency orders by refusing to stay at home after she returned from a trip outside the province.[3]

By March 25, the number of cases had risen to 67, 44 of them associated with an outbreak at a funeral home, which occurred between March 15 and 17.[4][5]

April 2020

As of April 24, 2020, there have been 256 cases confirmed in Newfoundland and Labrador, with 207 recoveries and 3 deaths. As of that date, 7,134 people have been tested in total.[6]

By April 30, 2020, there were 258 total cases, with 0 new cases, 225 recoveries, 4 hospitalizations with 2 in critical condition, and 3 deaths.[7]

May 2020

• May 5, 2020: The House of Assembly passes Bill 38 amending the Public Health Protection and Promotion Act, authorizing police officers to stop vehicles, enter any premises, and detain people and take them to the border if they are not complying with public health measures.[8][9][10]
• May 11, 2020: Newfoundland and Labrador entered public health alert level four.
• May 28, 2020: Newfoundland and Labrador reports one new case of COVID-19, ending the province's 20-day streak of zero new cases.[11]

June 2020

• June 8, 2020: Newfoundland and Labrador entered public health alert level 3. Some businesses reopened and 20% of provincial government workers returned to their physical workplaces.
• June 10, 2020: In June 2020, PEI Premier Dennis King suggested that travel between provinces in the Atlantic region might be allowed, as early as the beginning of July. King claimed there was an agreement to this end, in a discussion held on June 10 between the Premiers. When asked by the CBC, the other Premiers expressed caution on an "Atlantic bubble."[12]
• June 24, 2020: Premier Dwight Ball announced that there would be an "Atlantic Bubble" where travellers from the Atlantic provinces would not be required to self isolate for 14 days.
• June 25, 2020: Newfoundland and Labrador entered public health alert level 2. Bars, places of worship, and fitness centers reopen.

July 2020

• July 3, 2020: "Atlantic Bubble" is opened. Travel between the four Atlantic Canadian provinces is now possible without undergoing a 14 day self-isolation period. The total number of cases in the province remains at 261, with no active cases for 16 days and no new cases for 36 days. 18,356 people had been tested for the virus as of this date.[13][14][15]
• July 25, 2020: One new case is reported by the provincial health authorities report one new case of the virus which brings up the active case tally to 4 cases.[16]

Impact

The Liberal Party delayed its leadership election from May to August as a result of the pandemic.

References

1. "Newfoundland and Labrador announces 1st presumptive case of new coronavirus". Global News. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
2. "Newfoundland and Labrador COVID-19-related cancellations and postponements". www.thetelegram.com. March 13, 2020. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
3. "Newfoundland woman arrested for refusing to self isolate after talking to police". globalnews.ca. March 25, 2020. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
4. Flanagan, Ryan (March 25, 2020). "N.L. announces 32 new COVID-19 cases; woman arrested for disobeying isolation order". CTV News. BellMedia. CTV News Atlantic. Archived from the original on March 26, 2020. Retrieved March 26, 2020.
5. McKenzie-Sutter, Holly (April 5, 2020). "Anxiety grows in N.L. as 75 per cent of COVID-19 cases traced to funeral home". CTV News. CTV News. Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
6. "COVID-19 Information". COVID-19. Archived from the original on March 27, 2020. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
7. "Covid-19 Newfoundland and Labrador - HUB". covid-19-newfoundland-and-labrador-gnl.hub.arcgis.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 6, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
12. Sam Juric; Wayne Thibodeau (June 11, 2020). "Atlantic premiers hesitant to commit to regional travel bubble". CBC News. Charlottetown, PEI: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
13. "Another day, another zero: COVID-19 streak continues on 1st day of Atlantic bubble". CBC. July 3, 2020.
14. "Here's what you'll need to do to enter each province in the Atlantic bubble". Global News. Archived from the original on August 2, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
15. "Archived copy". www.thechronicleherald.ca. Archived from the original on June 27, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
16. "Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting a new case of COVID-19". Global News. July 26, 2020. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved August 4, 2020.