5th straight day without a new case of COVID-19 in N.L.

For thefifth day in a row,Newfoundland and Labrador on Tuesday reported no new cases of COVID-19.

The province's total caseload remains 261, while 247 people have recovered from the virus. There are 11 active cases in the province.

As of Tuesday's briefing 10,052 people have been tested 152 in the last 24 hours.

"Now that we have a relatively low number of cases of COVID-19 in our province we are in a position to keep this virus under control in our communities," said Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald during the daily briefing.

"However, this does not mean we can let down our guards. Rather, we must remain vigilant as ever because as we know a few cases of this virus anywhere can quickly lead to an outbreak of cases."

Watch the full May 12 update:

Haggiesaid the effects of COVID-19 on the hospital sector are at a manageable levelbut there are still concerns about another surge in cases.

"We have a period now where we can start to look at a balance between the needs of people whose care may have been delayed or deferred a little bit because of COVID-19 to try and make sure that their needs are addressed," he said.

"But it has to been done on a balance ... because we need to look at beds, we need to look at demand, we need to look at human resource and staff. Butwe also need to look at [personal protective equipment],and that has been a challenge."

Newfoundland and Labrador has the third-lowest testing rate of all provinces. Asked Tuesday aboutlow testing numbers, Fitzgerald said there has to be a reason to administer a test.

"A lot of the places that have higher testing rates also have higher infection rates, and so you're going to be doing more testing when you find more cases. That just follows logic," Fitzgerald said.

"We're constantly looking at the information out there about testing. We're looking atepidemiologyand what we should do. We've broadened our testing criteria, but we have seen a significant reduction in symptoms as well."

Fitzgerald said, on average, it takes about two weeks to recover from the virus. But recovery can vary with the severity of the disease.

Fitzgerald said people with a mild case canget better quicker than two weeks, while those with a more severe case could take longer.

"We're still fairly new in our experience with this virus, so some people may be left withlonger terms that we don't know about yet," she said.

Don't rush

The province is inits second day of Alert Level 4, and Health Minister John Haggie reiterated the province cannot rush toward the end goal of Alert Level 1.

"We need to hurry slowly, and if we don't then we will find ourselves potentially having to go backwards," he said.

"Even when we get where we're going, whichat the moment is Alert Level 1, that is still not what you and I would understand as normal. Nor will it be until such time that we have an effective vaccine widelyavailable, and widelyused by people in this province."

On Tuesday the City of St. John's issued a news statement about its concerns with public activity in municipal parks only a day after they reopened to walking and cycling.

"Yesterday, our enforcement staff spoke to many individuals setting up hammocks, holding picnics, using playground equipment and playing Frisbee in our municipal parks, all of which are currently prohibited," Mayor Danny Breen said in the release.

City parks are open for walk-though and ride-through only. COVID-19 advisory signage has been posted at entrances and throughout parks. Barriers have been installed to restrict access to park features such as playgrounds. However, the city saidstaff have noticed individuals crossing barriers and using these facilities despite the restrictions.

"Unfortunately, if individuals persist in breaking the rules for our parks we will be forced to close them an action that no one wants to take as warmer weather makes our parks a desirable location to visit," said Breen.

Asked during Tuesday's briefing if non-compliance would affect the province's decisions on moving through its reopening phases, Fitzgerald said there are a number of factors to take into consideration, including hospital capacity, the amount of disease in the community and supply protective equipment.

"The behaviours of people, in and of themselves, may not influence that decision. However, I would never say never. Sometimes those behaviours may," Fitzgerald said.

"We have to be careful with what we take away from certain situations, and what we know about outdoor transmissionsso farsays that the risk is lower in those situations."

Exemptions to travel

Early numbers show the Newfoundland and Labrador government has granted about 900 exemptions for people who have requested to come to the province. The province implemented a travel ban on May 4.

The Department of Health and Community Services told CBC News that 1,920 exemption requests were received for the period up through the morning of May 11.

Of those, 923have been approved, and 103 have been denied. Another 498are pending review, while there are eight appeals. It's not clear where the remaining requests are in the process.

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