Plans for 'Atlantic bubble' on July 3 as cases of COVID-19 stabilize

The four Atlantic provinces have announced plans to ease interprovincial travel restrictions, creating a so-called "bubble" as the region has reported relatively few new COVID-19 infections in recent weeks.

As of July 3, residents of Atlantic Canada will be allowed to travel within the region without having to self-isolate for two weeks when arriving in another province.

Visitors from provinces and territories outside the region will still be required to self-isolate for 14 days and adhere to local entry requirements. However, once the self-isolation period has passed, those visitors will also be allowed to travel within the Atlantic region.

Each of the four provinces will choose its own process for tracking and monitoring travellers.

The relaxed rules come as Nova Scotia — the most populous province in the region — announced Tuesday it had not recorded a new case of the viral infection in the past two weeks, and it had no active cases. The province had 1,061 total confirmed cases, including 63 deaths — 53 of them at a single long-term care facility in Halifax.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, where there were 261 confirmed cases and three deaths, the most recent case of COVID-19 was recorded on May 28. Like Nova Scotia, the province has no active cases.

New Brunswick reported one new case in the Moncton region on Tuesday, but that person was in self-isolation before the diagnosis and has had no close contacts. The province has 20 active cases. Of the 165 people with confirmed infections, two have died and 143 have recovered.

Prince Edward Island had just 27 cases of COVID-19 and all have recovered. The Island last reported a case on April 28.