Presumptive COVID-19 case in Makkovik is negative: Fitzgerald

A presumptive positive case of COVID-19 in Makkovik prompted a communitywide response, but further testing shows the case was negative,Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said Friday.

Fitzgeraldannounced the negative result at the latestprovincial pandemic briefing.

There may be more information released later on how a presumptive positive resultcame about, she said.

While the presumptive case is now confirmed negative, the initial result prompted a serious response in the small Inuit community on Labrador's north coast.

Dr. Thomas Piggott,medical officerof health for Labrador-Grenfell,told CBC News the health authority has been able to roll out point-of-care testing in the region over the last couple of weeks, which he says works as a useful tool to quickly identify possible cases of COVID-19.

"What happened in this situation is that we did have a point-of-care test that was initially positive. We've now had two confirmatory tests that are negative, which points to this being a false positive test," Piggott said.

"The point of care test is only one piece of information, and in a public health investigation it's kind of like detective work and you need to take all the pieces of information and act as quickly as possible."

Piggott said false positives are "quite rare" and testing is helpful and reliable.

A stressed community

When Caroline Rideout first heard the news, she was frightened.

"Honestly, it was like somebody punched me in the stomach. It just kind of took my breath away for a minute," Rideout said prior to Friday's update, addingher reaction was common among people in town.

The Nunatsiavut government opened upcommunitywide testing Thursday and by that evening,115had been done all of them negative,saidMakkovik AngujukKak, or mayor, Barry Andersen. Those swabs will be sent for confirmation testing, while Andersen says testing of the remaining population is happening Friday.

"It was a bit stressful there yesterday, but to get that news at 5 o'clock yesterday that there was zero positive tests was a bit of a reassurance," said Andersen.

The presumptive positive test was sent to St. John's, and Andersen said early Friday morning that he expectedto hear back about those results later Friday.

"We're hoping that's going to be a false positive," Andersen said.

His hope, it seems, was not in vain:Fitzgerald confirmed it was negative Friday afternoon.

With the Alert Level 5 lockdown limiting gatherings across Newfoundland and Labrador, people aren't able to meet much in person.

Andersen said people have been tightening their circles and limiting contact since the province was put under Alert Level 5 last week, but added that Makkovik is still very much a close community, able to support one another.

"Pretty much the whole community was locked down, not many people out around. Most everybody was staying to their household bubbles," Andersen said.

"People were still out around on Ski-Doos, which was good. Doing their regular chores, hauling firewood, going for a partridge and that kind of thing. And they're staying positive."

In the meantime, a large portion of the community's population has already been vaccinated, in accordance with the provincial vaccination rollout plan identifying priority groups and vulnerable populations.

Rideout has already received her second dose of the Moderna vaccine, which had been rolling out in Nunatsiavut this month, and she knows a "good percentage" of people eligible in her community also got it.

"It's definitely a big comfort," Rideout said.

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