'Each day we waste now will cost us,' warns Haggie as 12 new cases of COVID-19 found in N.L.

Newfoundland and Labrador has confirmed 12 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the province's total to 195.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the province's chief medical officer of health, said at Friday's daily briefing that all the new cases are in the Eastern Health region.

Some 3,201 tests have been completed in the province so far. Fitzgerald said11 people are currently in hospital as a result of the virus with four in intensive care.Eleven people have recovered, shesaid. One person has died.

Fitzgerald said she's been asked aboutthe possibility oftransmission of the virus that causes COVID-19from an asympotic carrier, and noted 90 per cent ofcases involvetransmission from someone who issymptomatic.

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While it can be transmitted by someone who doesn't show symptoms for another 24 to 48 hours, said Fitzgerald, current evidence suggests that accounts for just 10 per cent of cases.

"Some of the symptoms of COVID-19 can be mild, such as muscle aches and pains, and may not be recognized as the first signs of infection," said Fitzgerald.

Right now testing is done only on people who have travelled, and people who may have had contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. Not everyone with symptoms is being tested.

Fitzgerald said the province is analyzing its data to decide the best time to test anyone who may simply be experiencing symptoms of the virus.

"At the moment, the biggest risk factor that we have are anyone who has symptoms who has been a contact of someone withCOVID-19, or has travelled. If our analysis of the data shows us something differently then we will change our testing recommendations based on that information," she said.

Fitzgerald also said only negative test results will appear ongovernment's online portal.Anyone who has tested positive will be contacted directly by publichealth officials. Fitzgerald said 919 people have used the portal to date, which has freed up time for health-care workers to focus on contact tracing, adding it can take up to five days for results to appear in the portal.

As of Friday, there are186 cases of COVID-19 in the Eastern Health region, three in Central Health, one in Western Health and five in Labrador-Grenfell. Health Minister John Haggie said the people who have tested positive are between five and 91 years old.

• 15 cases are under 20 years old.
• 25 are between 20 and 29 years old.
• 31 are between 40 and 49 years old.
• 44 are between 50 and 59 years old.
• 42 are between 60 and 69 years old.
• 38 are70 years old orabove.

Haggiecontinued to stress the importance of physical distancing, sayinga vaccine to prevent the virus is still months away at best.

"Our only option is the prevention of the transmission of this virus between individuals," Haggie said.

"Each day we waste now will cost us. So for heaven's sake stay in your bubble, stay home."

Asked when Newfoundland and Labrador would hit its peak, Haggie said virus modelling is still at work on the federal and provincial level, and noted the province is lagging behind the rest of mainland Canada.

The health minister said if the province has been successful in its social distancing measures, the peak will be delayed and will result in lower daily numbers of positive cases.

"If we haven't, the peak will come sooner, when we've had less time to prepare, and it will be significantly greater in terms of numbers," he said.

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