Newfoundland and Labrador has identified eight new cases of COVID-19 within the last 24 hours, bringing the provincial total to 183.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said Thursday during the daily COVID-19 update that the new cases are in the Eastern Health region.
As of Thursday, 174 cases are within the Eastern Health region of the province, three are in Central Health, one is in Western Health and five are in Labrador-Grenfell.
Fitzgerald said 143 cases are related to Caul’s Funeral Home.
• 14 cases are under 20 years old.
• 24 are between 20 and 39 years old.
• 31 are between 40 and 49 years old.
• 41 are between 50 and 59 years old.
• 38 are between 60 and 69 years old.
• 35 are 70 years old or above.
“I need everyone to understand that we are at the beginning of this epidemic in our province and now is not the time to become complacent,” Fitzgerald said.
So far there have been 2,929 samples tested in the province.
Health Minister John Haggie again reiterated that the pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint.
“We are, from experience of our other jurisdictions, not yet into our likely surge period. This is likely to come over coming weeks, and we are working hard to understand when that might be.”
Haggie said families should plan for virtual gatherings over Easter, and camping plans should remain on hold as Victoria Day weekend approaches at the end of May.