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1 new case of COVID-19 in N.L., as resident returns from U.S.

There is one new case of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador on Friday — a man between 20-39 who is a resident of the province and was returning from the United States.

The new patient was asymptomatic while travelling back to central Newfoundland, and contact tracing is now underway, according to a news release sent on Friday afternoon.

It's the first new case in six days, and there has yet to be a case related to schools opening.

There are two active cases in the province.

In total, 36,991 people have been tested, and 395 were tested in the 24 hours since the previous update on Thursday.

Newfoundland and Labrador's one new case comes on the same day other provinces posted large spikes in cases. Ontario, for example, has 401 new cases on Friday, the largest increase in one day since June.

Quebec registered 297 new cases, including Bloc Québécois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet.

Eastern Health aims to ease testing woes

Meanwhile, the province's largest health authority is taking steps to ease wait times and support testing.

Eastern Health announced Friday it's adding a new call-in system for people seeking testing. There will be two pathways when you call the general COVID-19 referral line — one for adults and one for school children.

The referral line is the second step in the testing process, after calling 811.

Bruce Tilley/CBC
Bruce Tilley/CBC

It is staffed by nurses, who will walk you through a checklist and then advise on whether or not you need a test.

The hours have been extended from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. This comes after several parents complained it took several days to reach someone on the referral line to find out whether or not their child needed a COVID-19 test.

As was announced on Thursday, a drive-through testing clinic for children is being set up at the Janeway Children's Health and Rehabilitation Centre to accommodate the back-to-school testing crunch.

The service there is by appointment-only, and people are asked to arrive no earlier than 10 minutes before their scheduled test.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador