Newfoundland and Labrador's health minister says he's tested positive for COVID-19

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ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Newfoundland and Labrador's health minister has become the second Atlantic Canadian government official to announce a positive COVID-19 test results in the past two days.

John Haggie said in a Facebook post Saturday that he has has tested positive for the disease and isolating appropriately.

He says he first sought testing after experiencing "flu-like symptoms," and that some of those symptoms remain.

Haggie is a doctor by trade and he represents the central Newfoundland district of Gander in the provincial legislature.

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said Friday he'd tested positive for COVID-19 and that he was isolating at home with his family.

Like the rest of Canada, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador are battling record-setting COVID-19 case counts driven by the Omicron variant.

Health officials in Newfoundland and Labrador reported 442 new cases on New Year's Day, for a total of 2,150 active reported diagnoses across the province. So far, hospitalizations remain low, with officials reporting just one person in care for COVID-19.

"I know there are many families in the same situation and we will get through this," Haggie wrote in his Facebook post.

As of publication time, Newfoundland and Labrador was the only Atlantic Canadian province to post COVID-19 case counts on Saturday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 1, 2022.