june 28, 2022, included 407 cases and two deaths. there were 110 cases on june 23; 37 cases on june 24; 61 cases on june 25; 41 cases on june 26; 11 cases on june 27; 25 cases on june 28; and 122 cases on june 29. there are 13 people in hospital due to covid-19, with two people in icu. the province also reported two new deaths in the last week due to covid-19 severity. the province reported 395 cases on july 6, 2022. there were no deaths since the week prior, and eight people are in hospital due to covid-19, with one person in icu. in their weekly update on july 13, 2022, the province reported 388 new covid-19 cases and four deaths. three people remain in hospital due to covid-19 severity. for the first time since december 2021, there are no patients in icu with covid-19. there were 443 covid-19 cases reported in the province's weekly update on july 20, 2022. four people died since the last update, pushing the province past the 200 mark in regards to deaths. hospitalizations in the province also took a jump within the last week, with 14 people now receiving care. three people are in icu due to covid-19. the province reported 405 new covid-19 cases within the last week on july 27, 2022. another three deaths were reported as well. hospitalizations jumped again since the last update, with officials reporting 17 people receiving care. icu admissions dropped from three to one. within the last week, there were 355 cases reported on august 3 and two deaths. on august 10, 2022, the province reported 360 cases and eight deaths since their last weekly update. there are 14 people in hospital due to covid-19, with two people in icu. during their weekly update on august 17, 2022, health officials reported 379 new cases and four new deaths. hospitalizations increased by four, with 18 people now receiving care due to covid-19. icu admissions dropped from two to one. on august 24, 2022, the province announced 329 new covid cases and four deaths since their last weekly update. hospitalizations also dropped by four, with one person still in icu. burin peninsula covid-19 (delta variant) outbreak on october 20, 2021, health officials announced a cluster of cases in the marystown area on the burin peninsula. since then, the investigation into the source has been ongoing. prior to the announcement, on october 19, 2021, newfoundland and labrador's acting chief medical officer of health dr. rosann seviour announced that four schools were involved in the recently announced cases. the schools involved are bayview academy in st. george's, heritage collegiate in lethbridge, anthony paddon elementary in musgravetown, and sacred heart academy in marystown. on october 22, 2021, chief medical officer of health dr. janice fitzgerald held a media briefing to announce 30 new covid-19 cases. she also confirmed that the recently announced cases on the burin peninsula, specifically in marystown, is now forming into a new cluster. as of the same date, there were 25 confirmed cases in the marystown region, with 22 of those cases involving school-aged children. as a result, dr. fitzgerald announced that communities in the marystown and burin areas will move to alert level 3 effective 12:01am on saturday, october 23, 2021. the communities affected are: red fox harbour south to epworth-grand salmonier including rock harbour, spanish room, beau bois, marystown, burin, lewin's cove, jean de baie, fox cove-mortier, frenchman's cove and garnish. on october 25, 2021, public health officials announced 36 new covid-19 cases, eight recoveries and no deaths. out of the 36 new cases, 35 of them were connected to the marystown cluster, and included 23 cases in those under the age of 20. marystown mayor brian keating announced on vocm morning show on october 25, 2021, that there are now 58 cases linked to the cluster. later that day, public health officials confirmed this number in a news release. fifteen of the 20 new cases reported on october 27, 2021, were associated with this cluster. as of november 5, 2021, 83 cases have been linked to the marystown cluster. also on november 5, 2021, health officials announced that all towns and communities on the burin peninsula will return to alert level 2, effective immediately. public health officials stated that although a source has yet to be determined, the risk of residents in this area contracting covid-19 is deemed low. health officials announced that as of monday, november 23, 2021, they have not been able to confirm a source that caused this outbreak. eighty-four confirmed cases was recorded during the investigation. impact on schools public health officials notified the newfoundland and labrador english school district (nlesd) on october 21, 2021, that a number of students attending sacred heart academy in marystown had tested positive for covid-19. this prompted the nlesd to move classes to online learning, effective immediately, until public health says otherwise. three days later on october 24, 2021, the nlesd announced that a student attending donald c. jamieson academy in burin had tested positive for covid-19 and students will be transitioning to online learning effective tuesday, october 26, with monday, october 25, being a transition day for teachers to gather their resources. the nlesd announced on october 26, 2021, that two students at pearce junior high school in marystown have tested positive for covid-19. furthermore, the district also announced the same day that a "small number" of students at marystown central high school may have been exposed to covid-19 after a student tested positive. unlike the elementary schools that are experiencing an outbreak in the same area, the district opted to keep both schools open, rather than moving students to online learning until the investigation is completed. chief public health officer dr. janice fitzgerald held a media briefing on october 29, 2021, and announced that the delta variant was the cause of the outbreak currently happening in the marystown area. moreover, dr. fitzgerald announced that the covid protocols in elementary schools have been amended and will include masking for all children in grades k-3. prior to this, masking was required for children from grades 4–12. regulated child care centres were also included and staff at those centres will now be required to wear a mask. the nlesd announced on november 2, 2021, that both anthony paddon elementary and heritage collegiate can return to a "low risk" protocol, meaning both schools will resume in-person learning. provincial response alert level system on april 30, fitzgerald unveiled a foundation for living with covid-19, a framework of five alert levels that would allow for restrictions to be gradually lifted. fitzgerald explained that the term "alert level" was used rather than terms such as "phase", to encourage residents to remain "alert, vigilant and aware" even at lower levels. all alert levels are subject to other public health orders and guidance, including practicing social distancing, proper hygiene, wearing face masks when in an enclosed public space, limiting non-essential travel, and conducting remote work whenever possible. foundation for living with covid-19 alert level system alert level restrictions alert level 1 the province will consider lifting long-term restrictions. alert level 2 gatherings organized by recognized businesses and organizations are limited to 50 people. households may form a social bubble with up to 20 close, consistent contacts. wakes are prohibited at funerals. sports and recreational facilities, performance spaces, and indoor entertainment facilities are limited to 50 people. bars and restaurants may operate at 50% capacity. campsites may offer overnight camping. places of worship may operate with restrictions. alert level 3 outdoor gatherings, and weddings and funerals limited to 20 people. visitations are permitted. restaurants may offer in-person dining with a reduced capacity. buffets are prohibited. all bars and lounges must close. outdoor pools may re-open with reduced capacity, and "medium-risk" outdoor recreation may resume. gyms, arenas, and fitness facilities remain closed. campsites may offer limited overnight camping. alert level 4 outdoor gatherings, weddings, funerals, and burial services limited to 10 people. households may form a "bubble" with one other household. some health care services may resume. non-essential retail stores, personal care services, private health clinics, and animal grooming services may re-open, subject to restrictions. low-risk outdoor recreation such as fishing and golf are permitted, subject to guidance. restaurants may not offer in-person dining. all campsites must close. professional services, workplace training, gardening centres, and animal daycares may resume in-person operations. alert level 5 gatherings, burials, and weddings limited to five people. funerals are prohibited. all non-urgent health care is suspended. all private health clinics, except those of a physician or nurse practitioner, must close to non-urgent care. all retail businesses that do not provide "services essential to life, health or personal safety of individuals and animals" must close. all gyms and recreational facilities, performance spaces, cinemas, campsites, and playgrounds must close. travel restrictions on march 18, 2020, newfoundland mandated that anyone entering the province from outside of canada must self-isolate for 14 days upon their return. on march 20, newfoundland mandated that anyone entering the province from elsewhere in canada must also self-isolate. on april 22, a partial exception was introduced for employees of the agriculture, hydroelectricity, mining, oil and gas, transport, and trade sectors; they must still self-isolate from the general public for 14 days, but may attend work if they do not show any signs of covid-19 symptoms. on may 4, 2020, the province enacted a strict travel ban; only residents of the province, employees of the aforementioned industrial businesses, and those otherwise approved by the chief medical officer, are allowed to travel into newfoundland. on may 20, 2020, the travel ban was challenged in the supreme court of newfoundland and labrador by nova scotia resident kim taylor and the canadian civil liberties association. taylor had been barred from entering the province to attend her mother's funeral, and argued that the travel ban violated the guarantee of freedom of movement in section 6 of the charter of rights and freedoms. in september 2020, the court upheld the ban. although agreeing with the opinion that the ban did violate section 6 of the charter, justice donald burrage ruled that the ban was a reasonable limit as allowed by section 1. he stated that "while restrictions on personal travel may cause mental anguish to some, and certainly did in the case of ms. taylor, the collective benefit to the population as a whole must prevail", and that " right to mobility must give way to the common good." due to the number of cases within atlantic canada being relatively low, premier of prince edward island dennis king suggested in june 2020 that a travel corridor could be formed among them as early as july. premier dwight ball stated that "first and foremost, any final decision that would be made on this would have to be made in consultation with our public health officials." on june 24, 2020, the council of atlantic premiers announced that they had agreed to form a travel corridor, the "atlantic bubble", which would allow residents of the atlantic provinces to travel between them without being required to self-isolate on arrival. the agreement would begin on july 3 on november 23, 2020, amid an increase in cases, premier andrew furey announced that newfoundland would suspend its participation in the atlantic bubble for 14 days. essential travel by residents of atlantic provinces would not require an exemption, but became subject to a self-isolation requirement. on december 7, premier furey ruled out plans to rejoin the bubble until at least 2021, as other provinces also began to suspend their participation due to local spikes. on march 18, 2021, plans were announced to reform the atlantic bubble no earlier than april 19, although this was later delayed to may due to outbreaks and lockdowns in new brunswick. newfoundland and labrador suspended their involvement in the atlantic bubble in september 2021 due to growing case numbers in new brunswick and nova scotia, as well as newfoundland and labrador's change in epidemiology. newfoundland and labrador opened their borders to the rest of the country on july 1, 2021. fully-vaccinated travelers did not need to isolate, as long as they uploaded their vaccination documents to the province's travel form. partially-vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers would have to isolate for the full