Man in 60s is P.E.I.'s 138th case of COVID-19

A man in his 60s has contracted Prince Edward Island's latest case of COVID-19.

The Chief Public Health Office said ina news release late Thursday that the newest case is a close contact of a previously announced case.

"The man tested negative initially, but after developing symptoms, [he] tested positive," the news release said. "He has been in self-isolation and is being followed daily by public health."

The case is the Island's 138th case since the pandemic hit P.E.I. nearly a year ago.

P.E.I. now has 23 active cases of COVID-19, due to an outbreak that came to light a week ago with clusters in both Summerside and Charlottetown.

A mass testing campaign that began on the weekend led to an estimated seven per cent of the Island's population being swabbed for signs of the disease, many because they were in the same young-adult age cohort as most of the new cases.

Others were urged to seek out a testing clinic if they had any symptoms, orhad visited one of many potential sites of public exposure listed by the province.

On Wednesday at midnight, a 72-hour lockdown ended after Dr. Heather Morrison said the test results showed no sign of the coronavirus spreading through the general population.

The province is now in a COVID-19 circuit break phase that continues until March 14 at 8 a.m.

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