Months without positive tests, P.E.I. reports new cases

CHARLOTTETOWN — Prince Edward Island has reported two new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to five in the past 48 hours after the province went more than two months without a positive test.

In a news conference Sunday, the province’s chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, said the two new cases — both men in their 20s — were in close contact with a local man who had travelled to Nova Scotia. That man tested positive for the virus upon his return to the island on Monday.

“We are experiencing a cluster of four cases that appear to be related to travel to Nova Scotia and contact with an individual who had recently arrived from the United States,” Morrison said. “At this point there is no evidence of community spread of COVID-19 in our province and the risk of transmission of COVID-19 within the province remains low.”

Before this weekend, the province’s last COVID-19 positive test came in late April.

Morrison said public health officials in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia have been in close communication to trace the COVID-19 cluster.

The P.E.I. man travelled to Nova Scotia for personal reasons on June 26 and returned to the island on June 29, Morrison said.

He is believed to have come into contact with someone there who had travelled to the U.S.

“This cluster of cases is a clear reminder that COVID-19 is still very much present in our province and we must remain vigilant,” Morrison said.