2 new cases of COVID-19 in N.L.

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting two new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.

One case is a female between 40 and 49 years old in the Western Health region, a member of the same extended household and a close contact of a previous case, according to a Department of Health spokesperson.

The other case is a man between40 and 49 years old in the Eastern Health Region. This case is travel-related. The man, a resident of the province,had returned from work in Africa and has been self-isolating since arrival, according to the Health Department's media release issued shortly after 2 p.m.

As a result of the new case in the Eastern Health region, the Department of Healthis asking people who travelled on Air Canada Flight 690 from Toronto to St. John's on Wednesday to call 811 to arrange for COVID-19 testing.

The Department of Health said contact tracing by public health on both cases is underway. Everyone considered a close contact has been advised to quarantine.

Since Thursday's update, 465people have been tested for the virus, bringing the total to 46,056 since March.

The province's caseload moves to279, with 269 people having recovered and four deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

There are now six active cases.

Health authority says it's on self-isolation communication

On Friday, Labrador-Grenfell Health issued a press release to address concerns after an essential health-care worker brought in from Saskatchewan tested positive for COVID-19 in late September.

In the press release, the health authority said it continuously assesses staffing needs to balance service needs with any decision for a travel exemption for a worker from outside the Atlantic bubble.

The health authority also said over 75 per cent of its temporary workers brought in during the pandemic have been from within the Atlantic bubble, and that since that positive case it has been working to improve communications around self-isolation requirements and ensuring workers have self-isolation support, including transportation and access to food.

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