COVID-19 on P.E.I.: What's happening Thursday, July 2

A form that visitors from the other 3 Atlantic provinces must fill out in order to enter Prince Edward Island starting tomorrow is now online. (See link on bottom of story.)

The declaration includes spaces where Atlantic bubble visitors must provide the following information as they come across the Northumberland Strait by means of the Confederation Bridge or the Caribou-Wood Islands ferry:

• Information on their Atlantic Canadian residence.
• Arrival and departure date and contact information.
• The names of all travellers in the vehicle.
• A health declaration asking about any possibleCOVID-19 risk.

If you're an Islander wondering what you'll face trying to enter the other three Atlantic provinces, here's a handy guide of what border screeners will be looking for.

And some Atlantic Canadians are planning to cross the Confederation Bridge the moment the bubble opens at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, July 3.

"I haven't seen my kids or my grandkids since Christmas," Gerard Dugay told CBC.

"And my family's there, all my brothers and sisters. And my brother was diagnosed with lung cancer and I want to get to see him."

In other news, the Prince Edward Island government hasreleased more details of how it intends to bring children back to school safely in the fall, with COVID-19 in mind.

The province had earlier acknowledged that moreteachers might need to be hired if class sizes were cut for safety reasons, and that possibility is included in today's document. But the "Welcome Back to School Plan" also says more buses and routes might have to be added, as well as more cleaning staff.

Earlier, a legislative committee rejected proposed changes to P.E.I.'s Emergency Measures Act.

At a news briefing on Tuesday, P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison laid out guidelines for Islandersplanning to travel out-of-province and for those planning to come to P.E.I. when the Atlantic bubble comes into effect on Friday.

At Tuesday's briefing Morrison said almost 1,400 new negative tests have returned since last week, and over 11,500 tests from P.E.I. have been done.

P.E.I. has had 27 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the most recent on April 28. All have recovered.

Also in the news

• P.E.I. lifeguard services will be supervising more Island beaches this year. They will also have an added duty asking people to spread out if they get too close to other beachgoers to maintain physical distancing guidelines put in place due to COVID-19.
• How Charlottetown will hold in-person public meetings under COVID-19 restrictions.
• Festival of Small Halls reborn as drive-in theatre concerts due to COVID-19.
• The P.E.I. government is postponing plans for afree, half-day pre-kindergarten programfor four-year-oldsand is now aiming for next September instead.

Further resources

• Here isinformation for livingwith the COVID-19 pandemic on P.E.I. including information on government relief programs, physical distancing measures, and essential health services.
• Here is achart tracking COVID-19 numbers and a timeline of COVID-19-related events on P.E.I.

More COVID-19 stories from CBC P.E.I.