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       Prince Edward Island has 37 active reported cases of COVID-19.

       The Associated Press

       A growing COVID-19 outbreak at a Charlottetown elementary school has led to the closure of a second school.

       Health officials Thursday evening reported two new infections connected to an outbreak at West Royalty Elementary School, which has been closed this week.

       A few hours earlier, they had reported eight new cases in the province, seven of which were tied to that school.

       Officials said one of the latest cases involved a student at Ecole La-Belle-Cloche in Souris, P.E.I., and is linked to the outbreak at West Royalty. The Souris school was closed Friday for contact tracing.

       Prince Edward Island has 37 active reported cases of COVID-19.

       Meanwhile, health officials in Nova Scotia reported 18 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and noted signs of community spread in the central area of the province among young unvaccinated people.

       Twelve of the new cases were found in the central region, which includes Halifax, and five were in the northern region, where officials have identified a cluster within a “defined” group of unvaccinated residents. Authorities have not identified the group, but they expect it will be the source of more cases.

       The final new case is travel-related and was found in Nova Scotia’s western region. The province now has 162 active cases, with six people in hospital.

       This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

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