P.E.I. declares first Omicron case as health officer says weeks ahead are worrying

CHARLOTTETOWN — Prince Edward Island joined New Brunswick on Tuesday in linking the emergence of the Omicron variant to the COVID-19 outbreak at St. Francis Xavier University that has spread through the region.

Dr. Heather Morrison, the province’s chief public health officer, said there is at least one confirmed Omicron case on the Island connected to the cluster at the Antigonish, N.S., university. She told a briefing the Island will not be able to avoid the variant’s further spread, adding it feels like the province is “bracing for another hurricane.”

Since mid-November, the province has had 94 positive cases of COVID-19, or about a quarter of its total since the pandemic started. There were three new cases reported on the Island on Tuesday, bringing the total to 36 active cases. 

Morrison announced added public health restrictions will come into effect on Friday, including a return to limits of 20 people during indoor, private gatherings. 

She said new arrivals on the Island are being required to remain in isolation, usually for about two hours, until receiving the results of their COVID-19 tests. People arriving on the Island are also being strongly advised to partially isolate for four days by avoiding larger gatherings, not attending church and avoiding visits to long-term care facilities and with older residents.

Masks are to be worn in indoor, public locations other than when eating or drinking, or in locations where physical distancing can’t be practised.

In New Brunswick, health officials had earlier connected several cases of the Omicron variant to the St. Francis Xavier University campus outbreak. On Tuesday, the province confirmed in a news release there are 109 new cases of the virus, bringing the active number of cases to 1,051. One person in their 70s and one person in their 60s were confirmed to have died as a result of COVID-19.

In Nova Scotia, public health restrictions on gathering limits, masking and physical distancing have been reinstated, with most of the changes coming into effect on Friday.

The province announced 127 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, while six people have been hospitalized.

Of the new cases, 68 cases were in the eastern zone, which includes Antigonish, 42 cases were in the central zone, which includes Halifax, 11 were in the northern zone and six were in the western zone. A Health Department spokeswoman said Tuesday a total of 344 cases have so far been linked to the St. FX outbreak, and more are under review.

Dr. Lisa Barrett, an infectious disease specialist at Dalhousie University, said in an interview it’s too early to tell how widespread and severe the impact of the St. FX cluster will be.

The university has been at the centre of an outbreak following the school’s X-ring ceremony on Dec. 3, which attracted more than 2,000 people to the campus. Provincial officials have confirmed an investigation found the majority of infections were spread during smaller, private gatherings related to activities held on and off the campus between Dec. 2 and Dec. 5.

Barrett said it will take several weeks before it’s clear whether increased public health measures in the three Maritime provinces will succeed in curbing the outbreak. 

“My big take-home is that this variant spreads exceptionally easily in indoor and unmasked situations. We need to be very mindful of that,” she said.

In Antigonish, Sarah Elliott, the former president of the St. FX student union, said people in the community have been taken off guard by the rapidity of the spread of the virus.

“It’s shocking and confusing. We had our vaccines and we felt we were doing everything properly,” she said in a telephone interview.

Katie Aubrecht, an assistant professor of sociology at St. Francis Xavier, said the flow of information has been poor in the community, adding to the sense of anxiety. “The fear of the unknown is more unsettling than knowing what you’re facing,” she said.

A spokeswoman for the university noted that rapid test kits are readily available on campus and in the community, and thousands of these tests have been distributed.

In addition, the school last week implemented restrictions in residences, including a full-time mask requirement, a prohibition on guests and capacity limits in common areas and bedrooms.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 14, 2021.

— By Michael Tutton in Halifax

The Canadian Press