According to figures provided Monday to CBC Radio’s ‘On The GO’, the provincial government has approved a total of 17,491 travel exemption requests between May 4 and August 27.
In that same time frame 3,539 travel requests were denied.
There are still 50 exemptions that are under review, according to the numbers provided by the health department.
With month winding down, attention turns to students returning to classes, with school restarting Wednesday, September 9 on the Island. It will have been nearly 6 months since students saw the inside of a classroom, as the provincial government announced March 16, that schools will be closing to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
On, Friday, August 5, Minister John Haggie said there could be an announcement within the next 4 weeks about the province moving to Alert Level 1, of its phased re-opening plan. Wednesday, August 10, marked the 4 weeks since his comment.
Alert Level 1 is what the provincial government calls “the new normal” living with the virus, while considering:
• Transmission patterns of COVID-19
• The availability of vaccine and or treatment
• A strong public health system