In St. John’s, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Newfoundland and Labrador’s chief medical officer of health, Andrew Furey, premier of N.L., and John Haggie, minister of health, provide an update on the province’s response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The premier announces that the province will be implementing a vaccine passport system similar to the one rolled out by Quebec. N.L.'s system will be introduced within the coming weeks to one month. Dr. Fitzgerald discusses the small cluster in the Labrador-Grenfell health region. There are 8 cases associated with that cluster and the source is under investigation. Health officials have recommended a delayed opening of three schools for the new academic year to allow time for contact tracing. Effective immediately, a special measures order is being introduced to move several towns and communities on the Northern Peninsula East region to alert level 3 under N.L.'s COVID-19 state of alert system. The order includes mandatory masks in all indoor public spaces.
