No new cases of COVID-19 in N.L., as Dr. Fitzgerald pleads for acceptance

There are no new cases of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador onWednesday.

Chief Medical Officer of Health Janice Fitzgerald opened the first media briefing in a week by urging people in the province to be more accepting and understanding toward those who have contracted the virus, or will contract it in the future.

This comes after some backlash directed toward the person who tested positive last Friday a resident of the province who returned home from the United States.

"I know people are scared, but it is impossible to know the personal circumstances of those around us. People who are unfortunate enough to contract this disease need our support and our understanding, not our judgment and disdain," Fitzgerald said.

"If people who test positive for COVID-19 feel vilified, then others will most certainly feel reluctant to come forward if they have symptoms."

The provincial government is live streamingthe briefing on its YouTube channel, with Fitzgerald, Premier Dwight Ball, and Health Minister John Haggie.

The province has one active case. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, 307 more people were tested.

That confirmed case came in on July 10, breaking a 42-day streak of no new cases. There have been no confirmed cases since.

No bubble bursting, yet

Ball had previously said the province could open its borders to all Canadian travellers by July17, expanding beyond the current limits of Atlantic Canada.

On Wednesday, Ball objected to a question about him "backtracking" on the nationwide bubble idea, saying instead that July 17 was only ever mentioned as the earliest possible date for expanding.

No decision has been made on whether or not to open to the rest of the country, but Ball said people would be given "plenty of notice" before travel is expanded further.

"We're not anxious to get there right now. It's [about] making sure people stay safe," he said.

During the briefing, Ball said traffic to the province has been relatively low. He said 9,900 travel exemptions have been approved since May 4, with the busiest point of entry being the Labrador-Quebec border.

More than 400 of the 996 people who entered the province on Tuesday entered through the border between Fermont, Que. and Labrador City.

Newfoundland and Labrador opened its border to visitors from Fermontlate last month to people with travel exemptions. On Tuesday, New Brunswick's Premier Blaine Higgs said he's considering opening their border to neighbours on the nearby Gasp Peninsula.

Would Dr. Fitzgerald go to a bar?

During the briefing, Fitzgerald was asked if she would go to a pub or a bar. She joked about not wanting to go to bars for other reasons, before saying her answer shouldn't influence what people feel safe doing.

"Everybody has to make their own risk assessments when they're doing activities," she said. "Whether or not I would go to a bar shouldn't really factor into anyone's decision."

The question came after other chief medical officers were asked the same by reporters in different provinces. Montreal has suffered a setback after 13 people tested positive Monday, and are said to have visited nine bars throughout the city.

It sparked a rush of testing, and 30 more cases were identified Wednesday related to bars.

Fitzgerald said people should leave crowded situations if they feel unsafe.

What about weddings?

As we approach the midway point of the wedding season, Fitzgerald also addressed the reason why gatherings like weddings and funerals are still limited to 50 people.

Early on in the pandemic, data suggested that about 10 per cent of outbreaks were associated with weddings and funerals. It would come to be a much higher rate in Newfoundland and Labrador, after the Caul's cluster.

"These types of social gatherings are often emotional time involving people who are family and close friends and attendees who may not have seen each other for a long time," Fitzgerald said."So these circumstances almost certainly increase the automatic response to hug one another to be close to one another and have prolonged contact."

Weddings are also typically closed events, she said, with the same people in the same place for a prolonged period.

Unlike restaurants, which can operate a 50 per cent capacity, people mingle from table to table, which could lead to an outbreak.

"We know that rapid contact tracing and quarantine is of paramount importance in controlling an outbreak. If an outbreak were to occur in such a gathering we need to ensure that our system could respond efficiently and effectively to control it."

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