One new case of COVID-19 on P.E.I. Friday

Public health officials on Prince Edward Island reportedone new case of COVID-19 on the Island Friday.

The Chief Public Health Office said in a news releasethatlike the single case reported Thursday, thiscase is connected toothers currently active in P.E.I.

The individual is a man in his 50s who tested negative initially, but after developing symptoms tested positive. He isaclose contact of a previously known case.

This is the third time this week that aclose contact who atfirst testednegative was later diagnosed with COVID-19. It also happened onTuesday and Thursday.

The latest patienthas been in self-isolation and is being followed daily by public health, the release said.

Prince Edward Island currently has 24 active cases of COVID-19 due to an outbreak that came to light a week ago with clusters in both Summerside and Charlottetown.

7% of Islanders swabbed

Amass testing campaignthat began on the weekend led to an estimated seven per cent of the Island's population being swabbed for signs of the disease, many because they were in the same young-adult age cohort as most of the new cases.

Others were urged to seek out a testing clinic if they had any symptoms, orhad visited one of many potential sites of public exposure listed by the province.

The Island has had 139 positive cases since the onset of the pandemic a year ago.

The province is now in aCOVID-19 circuit break phasethat continues until March 14 at 8 a.m.

New vaccine approval welcomed

In another development Friday, a provincial statement said the P.E.I. government was "pleasedto hear that Health Canada has granted authorization for the use of the Janssen COVID-19 vaccine today."

The statement said the province has not yet been given any details of the planned rollout of the single-dose vaccine, which can be stored at normal refrigeration temperatures, unlike some of the previous vaccines.

The new vaccine will bemanufactured by a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. Canada is expecting 10 million doses at first, with options to purchase up to 28 million more doses.

"We are excited about the possibility of being able to offer thissafe and effective vaccineto Islanders in the future, in addition to the previously approved vaccines," the P.E.I. government statement said.

Reminder about symptoms

The symptoms of COVID-19 can include:

• Fever.
• Cough or worsening of a previous cough.
• Possible loss of taste and/or smell.
• Sore throat.
• New or worsening fatigue.
• Headache.
• Shortness of breath.
• Runny nose.

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