There was just one new case of COVID-19 in the province on Monday. The case was in the Fredericton region and traced to a previous case.
The active case count in the province dropped to 111, with three of those in people isolating outside the province.
Zone 1 had no new cases reported Monday, and has 40 active cases of COVID-19.
Testing was low again on Sunday, with just 864 tests conducted. Just under half of those were in Zone 1.
ATLANTIC CANADA & CUMBERLAND
In Nova Scotia, there were 14 new cases of COVID-19 reported on Sunday, and the total number of active cases in that province dropped to 182. The Cumberland Health Network had no new cases for the fourth day in a row. There are currently 3 active cases in Cumberland.
PEI has reported no new cases since last Thursday, and has 6 active cases of COVID-19.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported 2 new cases on Monday… all traced to travel. That province now has 70 active cases of COVID-19.
FIRST PHASE OF ‘PATH TO GREEN’ 4-5 DAYS OUT
In a news conference Monday afternoon, Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell and Premier Blaine Higgs announced that the first phase of the province’s Path to Green plan will not come into effect until the province hits its target of 75% of eligible people vaccinated with at least one dose.
Higgs said he expects it could take four to five days to reach the target, which involves about 32,000 more New Brunswickers getting a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Currently just over 70% of the eligible population — or 62% of the full population — have received their first dose.
The province published the breakdown of vaccination rate by age group, and of course the most recent group to become eligible, those aged 12 to 19, are the least vaccinated group so far.
Only 44.7% of those 19 and under have had a first shot, though that number has grown rapidly in the past week. For twenty somethings, the rate goes up to 51.1%. For people in their thirties, its 57.5%, and it continues to go up with age. For those aged 80 or over, the rate is a remarkable 93.6%.
Dr. Russell also shared figures for rates of first doses between the health zones:
Zone 1 — 67.6%
Zone 2 — 67.1%
Zone 3 — 65.3%
Zone 4 — 66.1%
Zone 5 — 66.2%
Zone 6 — 66.5%
Zone 7 — 68.9%
Some people who have been vaccinated are not assigned to a health zone, so the rate for the province is higher than the combined rates across the health zones.
“REASON TO BE OPTIMISTIC” THAT NS BORDER WILL BE INCLUDED IN FIRST PHASE OF OPENING
The delay in reaching the first phase of reopening could be both good news and bad news for people in the Tantramar Area. The delay means that the hundreds of cross-border commuters in the area will continue under self-isolation rules for longer.
On the other hand, the delay could also mean a reconsideration of the decision to exclude the Nova Scotia border from the lifting of travel restrictions at other borders.
Originally, the province had announced lifting travel restrictions with PEI, Newfoundland, and the two Quebec bubble communities as part of the first phase. But the premier said Monday that could change when the province looks at the situation again Wednesday.
“We will be having another meeting with public health on Wednesday night,” said the premier. “There’s reason to certainly be optimistic that we would be able to look at bordering regions of Nova Scotia to be included just the same as the northern regions with Quebec. We’ll know more about that later in the week.”
Of course, the lifting of travel restrictions by the New Brunswick government leaves the border effectively closed for most, because of restrictions in place by the Nova Scotia government.
Reporters asked Blaine Higgs on Monday about the apparent lack of coordination of the Atlantic premiers when it comes to reopening dates and targets. Higgs didn’t explain why the premiers were not more coordinated, but expressed optimism that the Bubble would eventually reform.
“I think you’ll see the Bubble reunite here over the coming weeks,” said Higgs. “I think we’re all trending in the same direction.”
LIKELY NO DELAYS MEETING JULY 1 TARGET
Higgs also said that he doesn’t expect the delay in moving to the first phase of reopening will affect the second target date of July 1. The government’s goal for July 1 is to have 20% of eligible people vaccinated with two shots.
As of Monday, nearly 7% of the eligible population is already vaccinated with a second dose, and the province has further opened up access to second doses. Anyone who received their first shot before April 1 will now be able to book a second. About 10% of the population had received a first shot by April 1 this year.
In Sackville, there are currently no further Vitalité health clinics scheduled at the Tantramar Civic Centre, due to low turnouts at the clinics.
Corner Drug Store continues their rollout this week with supplies of Pfizer arriving. To register, go to their website.