Thread by @PeterCBC

We're starting a surprise Sunday COVID-19 NL briefing
"The specter of our surge is on our doorstep and we need to address it now" says premier Andrew Furey
He says everyone is looking forward to gathering together with family
He says we need to face the reality #covid19nfld

"We know simply the math does not lie, this new variant is more contagious and is here amongst us" says the premier
But says it will be met with a "wall of our collective will"
He says the people have the "courage to see this through" #covid19nfld

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald is announcing the latest numbers
There are 61 new cases since Friday
-18 in Eastern
-32 in Central
-10 cases in Western
-1 in LG Health
There have been 10 recoveries leaving 127 active cases
#covid19nfld

There are 9 confirmed cases of Omicron 34 presumptive. Those are in Central and Eastern
"We are very concerned with the rapid spread in the Central region"
#covid19nfld

Badger, Gander, Grand Falls Windsor and Twillingate are going to Alert level 3, and you shouldn't travel in our out of this area unless it's for essential reasons #covid19nfld

There are new restrictions in place for travellers.
Effective 3pm Tuesday, fully vaccinated travellers will need to isolate for 5 days after they arrive, they'll need to take rapid tests.
This includes university students, who still need to get PCR tests #covid19nfld

Children under 5 don't have to have a test, as long as parents are getting tested
Rotational workers will need to book a PCR test, and take a rapid test #covid19nfld

"I know there are many travellers coming into the province for the holiday and the timing is terrible" she says movement is what COVID thrives on. Public health is at full capacity.
She says by the time they find a case it's already spread #covid19nfld

Dr. Fitzgerald says these are temporary during this "critical period" when it's safe they will ease them
If you have family and friends coming you can isolate with them #covid19nfld

"Please hold fast" says Dr. Fitzgerald as she gets emotional #covid19nfld

Now for schools from minister Tom Osborne
Schools will be open tomorrow (unless they've already been closed)
Classes are cancelled for Tuesday and Wednesday
He says public health says schools remain safe to remain open, not pivot to online learning @#covid19nfld

Schools are remaining open for one day to allow teachers to clue up anything outstanding, and give parents time to arrange childcare. Take home any supplies you need in case they move to online learning in January #covid19nfld

Classes will resume Jan 4 either in person or online, they get two days of preparation now, so they're ready regardless of the format #covid19nfld

If you have kids with COVID-19 vaccine appointments this week, it will still be available at that time, so you can still show up to schools to get your vaccination #covid19nfld

There are a lot of travel related cases over the last few days, so they need to bring in border controls, this is needed to maintain health system capacity.
They delayed it so people can cancel their plans if they want #covid19nfld

Dr. Fitzgerald says she doesn't think people will move up their plans to beat the deadline and avoid isolating #covid19nfld

They're still looking at using rapid tests in the community. She says if they could prevent outbreaks, other areas would be in better shape then they are.
She says they need to be targeted, that may not be everyone using them because they want to gather #covid19nfld

Dr. Fitzgerald says these tests perform better if you're symptomatic, so they may use them for students in school who live away from testing sites, can also be used in an outbreak to get results more quickly #covid19nfld

For areas of Central, stick with your steady 20 contacts

For other areas it's gatherings of <25. But just because you can have 25 doesn't mean you should she says. Reduce your contacts as much as you can #covid19nfld

"They've never been easy" when Dr. Fitzgerald is about getting emotional
It's been a hard weekend and emotions got the better of her
She says it's the last thing any of them wanted to do
"I don't see another way of being able to curb and slow the spread" #covid19nfld

250,000 rapid test kits have arrived in NL since Thursday
Another 1.5 million are arriving in the next week
There is a global shortage of these kits says the health minister #covid19nfld

Why 5 days? She says people are getting infected faster with Omicron, trying to balance between best protection with maximizing freedom #covid19nfld

Why not exempt people with booster doses from isolating? She says they don't have enough info on how well three doses protect against omicron (the science shows much higher neutralizing antibodies after 3 doses) #covid19nfld

The premier says this is incredible difficult timing for businesses, but this is an effort to protect our economy and our hospital and ICU capacity
They'll work with businesses to "support then" #covid19nfld

On average incubation period is 3 days, that's a lot faster than previous versions which was 5-6 days #covid19nfld

They haven't considered a full lockdown says Dr. Fitzgerald, they want to keep society functioning as much as possible
The goal here is to slow importation of cases and spread, not stop it #covid19nfld

If you have a stuffy nose, a sore throat, aches and pains and you think it's a cold.
Assume it's COVID, stay home, you need to have a test, says Dr. Fitzgerald #covid19nfld