COVID-19 pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador

The COVID-19 pandemic in Newfoundland and Labrador is an ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a novel infectious disease caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of April 12, 2023, there have been 55,091 cases and 339 deaths confirmed in Newfoundland and Labrador. As of April 13, 2023, 745,617 tests have been completed.

*As of March 15, 2022, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador will no longer provide the number of people who recovered from COVID-19, or the exact number of known, active cases.

The Province of Newfoundland and Labrador has the ninth-most cases (out of ten provinces and three territories) of COVID-19 in Canada. Despite figures from COVID-19 Tracker Canada, the province is leading the country with the highest vaccination rates for first and second doses for those aged 12 and older, as well as kids aged 5–11.

The province announced its first presumptive case on March 14, 2020, and declared a public health emergency on March 18. Health orders, including the closure of non-essential businesses, and mandatory self-isolation for all travelers entering the province (even from within Canada) were enacted over the days that followed. After the initial outbreaks, the number of cases in Newfoundland remained relatively low, with several stretches of days with no cases over early-to-mid-2020. The province began a gradual lifting of restrictions on a five-stage scale on May 11, 2020.

Cases continued to remain relatively low and stable over the summer months of 2020, although several clusters (including the first case involving a school student) emerged in November and December. In February 2021, the province began to experience a major surge in new cases and community transmission, including its largest single-day increases to-date. On February 12, 2021, a second lockdown was declared after samples from these cases tested positive for the highly-transmissible SARS-CoV2 variant B.1.1.7. The province began to emerge from the second lockdown on February 27, returning to its prior state (Alert Level 2) with modifications on March 27, 2021.

Following the return to Alert Level 2 on March 27, 2021, cases remained low up until mid-December when they began to rise again as a result of multiple outbreaks caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in Western Health and the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Central, Eastern and Labrador-Grenfell Health authorities; Western Health began experiencing a surge in cases, again, due to Omicron in mid-January. Dr. Janice Fitzgerald moved the entire province to Alert Level 3 on December 23, 2021, and will remain there until January 10, 2022. Officials will reexamine where the province is in terms of epidemiology and make their decisions to move the province back to its previous level or keep the province where it's too, based on the evidence.^[2] However, on January 3, 2022, following days of high case counts and active caseloads, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Premier Andrew Furey and Eastern Health Authority CEO David Diamond held an unexpected media briefing to announce that the entire province will move to a modified Alert Level 4, effective midnight on January 4, 2022. Dr. Fitzgerald stated this move is necessary due to Public Health operating at 100% capacity in trying to identify cases and their close contacts. Fitzgerald also asked those who are sick and showing symptoms of COVID-19 to assume they have the virus and isolate immediately, not to get tested, and notify their close contacts. Only those who are close contacts of a case and not showing symptoms of COVID-19 will avail to a PCR test; this will help ease the strain on the health-care system. This move to a modified Alert Level 4 will last for two weeks, at which time it will be reassessed.^[3] On January 17, 2022, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald announced that the province will remain in Alert Level 4 until at least January 24, 2022. This is based on current epidemiological trends and hospitalizations.^[4] On January 31, 2022, officials opted to keep the province in modified Alert Level 4 due to rising hospitalizations and will reassess on February 4, 2022. Dr. Fitzgerald announced the province will be moving to a modified Alert Level 3 effective 12:01AM, Saturday, February 5, 2022. Fitzgerald said the province will move to a modified Alert Level 2 on February 21, 2022, if the epidemiology and hospitalizations stay consistent.^[5]

During a media briefing on February 8, 2022, Dr. Fitzgerald announced that effective immediately, the province will no longer issue Alert Level restrictions. The province will, therefore, post restrictions and changes on the COVID-19 website. As of Monday, February 14, 2022, restaurants and bars can operate at 50% with a table size of 10, formal gatherings, theatres, bingo halls, gyms and arenas can operate at 50% capacity, with regional sports returning but competitions are still prohibited, as are dancing inside bars.

On February 16, 2022, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Premier Andrew Furey, and Minister John Haggie held a live media briefing to announce the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, which Premier Furey stated "the light at the end of the tunnel is shining brighter every day." Dr. Fitzgerald went on to announce that effective February 21, 2022, informal gatherings can be increased to 25 people, faith-based gatherings, gyms and restaurants can increase to 75% (with NLVaxPass), sports will be allowed to compete out of region but with one game a day (no tournaments), and bars and theatres will remain at 50%. Effective February 28, 2022, border and travel restrictions will be eliminated, allowing all travelers to enter the province without having to isolate or be tested, but rapid testing will be voluntary. By March 14, 2022, the province is anticipating dropping all restrictions on masking, proof of vaccination, and gathering limits, however, Dr. Fitzgerald stated that public health will continue to highly recommend wearing a mask wherever physical distancing cannot be maintained. Fitzgerald said the measures currently in place were needed to ensure the hospitals did not get overrun during the Omicron wave, and that the province appears to "have passed the peak". Dr. Fitzgerald also made it known that the restrictions were not being loosened because of the ongoing Canada convoy protest, but were being loosened based on the science, which they have been following since the start of the pandemic.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald and Health Minister John Haggie held a media briefing on March 2, 2022, where they announced that Newfoundland and Labrador is on track to have all COVID-19 restrictions lifted by March 14, 2022. Fitzgerald said the province is seeing an uptick in cases, but they are less severe than previous waves and hospitalizations are remaining steady. Dr. Fitzgerald reiterated that "life will not change back to the way it was in 2019 when the special measures orders end", so Newfoundlanders and Labradorians should continue practicing physical distancing and masking where possible. John Haggie stated "the disease has evolved, making it more likely everyone will acquire it, but less likely to be hospitalized", and that hospitalizations is what public health is focusing on moving forward. As restrictions lift, the province will see a slight increase of cases in children; however, lots of children who have been vaccinated have had it, Dr. Fitzgerald said, and with the province "leading the world" in children who are fully-vaccinated, the increase in cases may not be as drastic.

During the final live media briefing on March 9, 2022, Dr. Fitzgerald announced that 15-20% of the total population of the province "likely have had COVID-19 at this point". Dr. Haggie announced that as of Monday, March 14, 2022, at 12:01 am, he will be repealing the state of emergency in the province and all special measures orders will be lifted, including masking, however, Dr. Fitzgerald stated that public health will continue to strongly recommend masking until mid-April when the warm weather arrives and people move outdoors.