COVID-19 on P.E.I.: What's happening Friday, July 31

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Heather Morrison told CBC News: Compass host Louise Martin some details around how the Canadian Premier League will operate on P.E.I., from a public health perspective.

Complementingwhat Tourism Minister Matthew MacKayhad said Thursday, Morrison said playerswill take chartered flights to the province and won't be interacting with Islanders at all.

Players will be in a 55-day bubble while on P.E.I., she said, and will have no contact with other teams between games. It's a similar process to how the NBA is operating in Orlando, Fla.

A women's mountain biking program has 'exploded' in popularity.And with COVID-19 restrictions slowing tourism, an organizer sayshe's started catering more to beginners, offering more learn-to-ride programs, and he can barely keep up.

People in Ontario who can't come to Fall Flavours on P.E.I. this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic will still be able to get a taste of the Island with a new offering called P.E.I. Patio Party boxes, dishing out local products and recipes from chef Mark McEwan.

For Islanders travelling in the Atlantic bubble: Nova Scotia has taken anhonour-system approach to its mandatory mask policy. As of Friday, masks are mandatory in indoor public spaces in the province.

New Brunswick is alsoexpanding itstravel bubble into twoQuebec border communities starting Saturday. Visitors from those border regions in the north of the province willpre-register for day trips only. N.B. Premier Blaine Higgs said about the expansion that"We have some really solid safeguards in place."

The Island has no active cases of COVID-19, with the province reporting that all 36 cases have recovered.

The next scheduled public health briefing is Tuesday, Aug. 4.

Also in the news

• An LGBTQ rights advocate on P.E.I. says the Island'slaw banning conversion therapy is an important message for others.This is the first Pride week on P.E.I. since the conversion therapy ban has come into effect.

• A new survey of how Island parents, teachers and students felt about online education at home during the COVID-19 lockdown this springshows a majority of them worry it created gaps in students' learning.

• The five Islanders who have been waiting for their service dogswill have to wait even longer, since the Lions Foundation of Canada has had to suspend its dog training program due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• A P.E.I. piper has found a unique way to lift spirits during the COVID-19 lockdown.James MacHattieoffered a daily dose of vitamin B, as in bagpipesvirtually of course.

Further resources

• Here isinformation for livingwith the COVID-19 pandemic on P.E.I. including information on government relief programs, physical distancing measures, and essential health services.
• Here is achart tracking COVID-19 numbers and a timeline of COVID-19-related events on P.E.I.

More COVID-19 stories from CBC P.E.I.