1 new case of COVID-19 linked to Marine Atlantic ferry

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one newcase of COVID-19, an employee ofa Marine Atlantic vessel flagged by officials this week as a possible risk for spreading the virus to crew members and passengers.

TheMV Blue Puttees,which operates between North Sydney, N.S., and Port aux Basques, N.L., was temporarily pulled out of serviceforcontact tracing Wednesday, after a crew member tested positive for COVID-19.

The new case, the second Marine Atlantic employee this week to contract the virus,is a man in his 60s in the Central Health region. The Department of Health says the man is isolating and contract tracing is underway.

The department also says it's sharing contact tracing information withauthorities in Nova Scotia and advising Marine Atlantic.

Health officials wouldnot provide details on the new case, instead deferring to the ferry operator. A spokesperson for Marine Atlantic told CBC the man was part of the same shift as thepreviously infected employee.

Marine Atlantic is adding a boat to the route, with theMVAtlantic Visionenteringthe schedule departing North Sydney early Thursday evening. The spokesperson said the Blue Puttees is still sidelined.

"We will continue to monitor this situation and make any additional operational adjustments as required," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Officials areasking passengers who travelled on the Blue Puttees to or from North Sydney or Port aux Basquesbetween Dec. 29 andJan. 16 to arrange COVID-19 testing.

With no new recoveries since Wednesday's update, the province has six active cases, with one person in hospital.

In all, 384 people have recovered from the virus, and77,273 people have been tested.

Read morefrom CBC Newfoundland and Labrador