Province-wide there were 12 new cases announced Wednesday. Three of those were in Zone 1, all contacts of previous cases. The Saint John and Bathurst regions reported cases that have all been traces to travel or previous contacts. Three cases in the Fredericton region are still under investigation.
New Brunswick now has 140 active cases of COVID-19, with six of those in people isolating outside the province.
Tuesday was a busy testing day in New Brunswick, with 2500 tests conducted. 673 of those were in Zone 1.
ATLANTIC CANADA & CUMBERLAND
In Nova Scotia, there were 17 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Wednesday, and the total number of active cases in that province dropped to 311. One new case was reported in the Cumberland Health Network, and there are currently 7 active cases in Cumberland.
PEI has reported no new cases since Monday. The island province now has 4 active cases of COVID-19.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported a whopping 17 new cases on Wednesday. Luckily all were traced to either travel or previous cases. That province now has 90 active cases of COVID-19.
VACCINATIONS: GET ‘ER DONE SAYS RUSSELL
Health Minister Dorothy Shephard and Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell pleaded on Wednesday with New Brunswickers who haven’t yet gotten a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, asking them to do so.
So far, 64.5% of the eligible population have received a first shot of a COVID-19 vaccine. That’s about 57% of the full population.
Russell said that approximately 45% of the appointments at Regional Health Authority clinics are still available between now and the deadline of June 7. “This is your call to arms,” said Russell. “We need your arms to fill those clinics”
The next Vitalité clinic in Sackville is this Saturday, June 5.
Just over 72,000 New Brunswickers need to get a first dose by Monday in order to meet the first goal of the province’s reopening plan. “I think we’re aiming for midnight June 7,” said Russell. “I think they’re going to be offering longer hours in some of the clinics to be able to accomplish that. So whatever time of day you can get in there… get ‘er done.”
Minister Shephard reviewed the “path to green” plan, phase one of which will see cross-border commuters no longer having to self-isolate when they return to New Brunswick, as well as lifting the Steady 15 limitation, opening up close contact to friends and family.
The June 7 target could also see isolation restrictions lifted for travellers from PEI, Newfoundland and two Quebec communities, but not for people coming from Nova Scotia.
CHMA asked Minister Shephard if there was any possibility that that could change, to reflect the current situation on June 7. Nova Scotia active case counts have been dropping dramatically, and that province has recently started coming out of its month long lockdown.
Shephard didn’t rule out the possibility. “We have set our targets for Monday, June 7,” said Russell. “And I won’t say that we would never go back and revisit something because quite frankly, all through COVID we have had to pivot in real time many, many times. Right now we’ve established that the bubble would be with our New Brunswick-Quebec communities. But that’s always subject to be reevaluated on a daily basis.”
There was also news to share on the second dose front. On the advice of the National Advisory Council on Immunization (NACI), New Brunswick will now allow people who got a first dose of AstraZeneca to get a second dose of either Pfizer or Moderna.
“This new advice suggests that these vaccines are interchangeable without loss of effectiveness,” says Russell. “This will give us the flexibility to provide more options in providing the second dose which provides maximum protection against the COVID-19 virus.”
Russell also said that second doses of AstraZeneca would continue to be available right away to anyone 55 or older who had their first shot at least eight weeks ago. The province currently has 4000 doses of AstraZeneca which are due to expire in July.
If people who had a first dose of AstraZeneca chose to get an mRNA for their second dose instead, they must wait for the second dose rollout. Russell said information on that would be coming next week.