N.L. reports 493 new cases of COVID-19, another jump in infections in Labrador
Posted Jan 4, 2022 07:58:04 PM.
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — COVID-19 cases continue to pile up in Newfoundland and Labrador, though the province's hospitalization situation remains steady with just one novel coronavirus patient.
Officials reported 493 new cases today and a test positivity rate of 12 per cent.
Nearly a quarter of those infections are in the Labrador-Grenfell Health Authority region, where some communities along Labrador's north coast are seeing cases of COVID-19 for the first time since the pandemic began in early 2020.
Though the region is home to about eight per cent of the province's population, it accounts for 624 — or about 20 per cent — of the province's 3,254 active reported cases.
Lela Evans said in an interview today the surge of cases in the region has underscored long-standing issues of inequality in Labrador that have been ignored by governments for decades.
The Independent member for the north coast district of Torngat Mountains says people in the area have dealt with issues of overcrowding and poor access to health-care for their entire lives, making them particularly vulnerable to bad outcomes if they contract COVID-19.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 4, 2022.
The Canadian Press
