TORONTO -- Newfoundland and Labrador reported 53 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, breaking a record set in March for the province’s highest single-day increase in case numbers.
Until now, the highest number of new cases in one day was 32 on March 25.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, chief medical officer for the province, said in the daily update that in addition to the 53 confirmed cases, they have 32 “presumptive positive cases.”
“The breakdown of confirmed cases is as follows: 44 under the age of 20, four between 20 and 39, four between 40 and 49, and one between 50 and 59,” she said.
Cases have been climbing consecutively higher over the past few days in the province, seemingly due to an outbreak at a high school in the Eastern Health Region.
“The positive cases we are seeing now are primarily the result of exposures in the last two to three weeks,” Fitzgerald said. “We have over 1,000 people that have been or will be tested that are associated with Mount Pearl Senior High School.”
Hundreds more are being identified as close contacts to those individuals, she added.
“All contacts of high school students are being tested and self-isolating. For students and staff of Mount Pearl Senior High, you must self-isolate for fourteen days from the last day you attended school, or were in contact with a positive case, whichever is more recent.”
The St. John’s metro area will be undergoing a two-week long “circuit breaker” lockdown, effective Wednesday at midnight.
The total number of cases for the province is 510, with 110 of those being active cases.
