5 years on from COVID-19, what has P.E.I. learned when it comes to public health? – CBC
‘I think we sometimes had collective trauma, and we have collective amnesia as a result of it,’ says CPHO
Mar 24, 2025
When Dr. Heather Morrison first met with fellow chief public health officers across Canada about a novel respiratory virus early in 2020, she didn’t know just how wide-ranging the ramifications of what would become the COVID-19 pandemic would be for Prince Edward Island.
“I don’t think when we started meeting we ever anticipated the extent and length of time it would be with us,” Morrison said in an interview with CBC News this month.
The first case on P.E.I. was confirmed in March 2020. Within days, schools and workplaces, churches and concert halls all closed. Virtual activities took their place. Anyone wanting to come to P.E.I. had to be pre-approved, and was required to self-isolate until the virus’s incubation period had passed.
Case counts grew slowly, but still, Islanders stood in line for hours to get tested. In time, children returned to the classroom and a vaccine arrived.
