CHARLOTTETOWN — Health PEI says the COVID-19 testing clinic in Charlottetown had to close early today because of the high volume of people getting tested. 

The clinic stopped accepting new arrivals at 11 a.m. in order to process the tests that had been done.   

Testing clinics will be open again Sunday and officials advise that people need to be patient and prepare for longer waits.   

Chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison announced 31 new cases of COVID-19 Friday.  

She said more cases of the Omicron variant are turning up on the Island, and it's not expected this variant can be contained like prior waves of the virus.   

New measures went into effect today including a reduction in the size of private gatherings to 10 people while indoor public gatherings are limited to 50 per cent of capacity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 18, 2021. 

The Canadian Press