Newfoundland and Labrador’s capital region is grappling with a COVID-19 outbreak that has forced the closing of schools, businesses and at least one voting office, as calls grow to postpone Saturday’s provincial election.
The province reported 53 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, as well as 32 presumptive positive cases – by far the largest single-day increase since the pandemic began. The outbreak, which began in a Mount Pearl high school, has led to large numbers of people lining up for testing.
Many of the new infections in the St. John’s metropolitan area are among young people, with 44 of Wednesday’s cases in people under 20 years old. The province, which now has 110 active cases, has suspended all arts gatherings and group sports, while putting restrictions on funerals, weddings and religious ceremonies.
All schools in Newfoundland’s eastern region were ordered closed for two weeks as teachers and students take part in mass testing, and the province’s top doctor recommended children be kept home from daycare. Bars, gyms and cinemas have also been told to shut down.
Until this week, Newfoundland appeared to have the pandemic under control. It’s had relatively few cases since March, and just four deaths – but that success also prompted concern among public-health officials who worried people would let their guard down against the coronavirus.
“I believe that going so long with low case counts of COVID led to complacency and we are now seeing the repercussions,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said. “This is something we had worried about and cautioned against.”
The spike in cases has fuelled criticism of Premier Andrew Furey’s decision to call an election when so few people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus. He was once again forced to defend his decision to send voters to the polls in February, arguing other provinces have safely voted during the pandemic.
“We’ve seen it in other jurisdictions with a higher burden of the disease,” Mr. Furey told reporters Wednesday.
British Columbia, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick all held elections during the pandemic – votes that favoured the governing parties. According to provincial legislation, Mr. Furey had to call an election before Aug. 19, 2021, which is the one-year anniversary of his swearing-in as Liberal Party leader and Premier.
Election officials have tried to ease anxious voters after at least one advance poll worker tested positive and a returning office in Mount Pearl had to be shut down after a COVID-19 exposure. Progressive Conservative candidate Damian Follett, running in the Mount Scio district in St. John’s, announced he and his family are isolating after his son tested positive for the coronavirus.
Dr. Fitzgerald said that with proper protocols in place, voting in Saturday’s election should be no riskier than going to the grocery store. Because of the large number of people forced into isolation as a result of the outbreak, affected voters in St. John’s will be able to cast a ballot from their car.
Opposition politicians say the election is unnecessarily risking lives, and complained the Liberals are pushing ahead because they’re leading in the polls. Petitions have begun circulating urging the province to delay the vote.
The NDP and Progressive Conservatives say Mr. Furey should have waited until more people had been vaccinated. Slightly more than 14,000 doses had been administered in the province of 521,000 people as of Wednesday.
“Andrew Furey gambled on this election call. COVID-19 called his bluff. Now, the people of the province are paying the price,” PC Leader Ches Crosbie said. “Andrew Furey had a choice, and he chose politics over public safety.”
The province’s Canadian Federation of Students urged the government to offer more alternatives to in-person voting, including telephone voting and expanding the time period allowed for mail-in ballots.
“Students and the people of this province should not have to choose between their democratic right to vote and their personal safety,” said Bailey Howard, chairperson of the group’s Newfoundland and Labrador chapter.
With files from The Canadian Press
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Greg Mercer