MONDAY UPDATE: 15 NEW CASES AND ONE MORE DEATH
In a news conference Monday afternoon Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell announced 15 new cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick, and one more death from the disease.
Three of the cases are in Zone 1, the southeast region which includes Sackville and Tantramar. Two people in their 20’s and one person in their 50’s tested positive for the disease. There are now 33 active cases of COVID-19 in the southeast region.
Russell reported 11 new cases in the Saint John region, making 43 active cases in Zone 2. One other new case was reported in the Fredericton region, in a person under 19 years of age.
Russell said that out of 89 active cases in the province, all but 13 have been traced to either a close contact or travel related origin.
However, While Russell said Monday that only 13 cases remain under investigation in New Brunswick, the province’s COVID-19 dashboard says there are a whopping 75 cases under investigation. To further confuse matters, Premier Blaine Higgs said that all 15 cases announced Monday were already identified, but a government news release issued shortly after he spoke says all 15 are under investigation. CHMA has reached out to Public Health to clear up the discrepancy in numbers. We’ll keep you posted.
Russell spent some of Monday’s conference highlighting the high numbers of cases in other jurisdictions and pointing out that New Brunswick has yet to see confirmed community transmission this time around.
“Our infection rates in Atlantic Canada are lower than most provinces in Canada,” said Russell. “We have not yet faced the rapid and uncontrolled growth in COVID-19 cases that some communities are now seeing. While we have a number of active cases still under investigation, we have not yet confirmed whether cases related to the ongoing outbreaks represent untraceable community transmission in Zone 1 and Zone 2.”
NB AND NS KEEP STATUS QUO WHILE PEI AND NF BURST THE BUBBLE
The border at Aulac will not be changing anytime soon.
Premier Blaine Higgs announced that New Brunswick would not be joining PEI and Newfoundland in re-imposing isolation requirements on people travelling from the rest of the Atlantic provinces.
Both provinces have reinstated their 14-day isolation requirements, effectively bursting the Atlantic bubble.
Meanwhile New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have not re-imposed the 14-day requirement. Both provinces have instead asked that people limit their travel to essential purposes.
Higgs said New Brunswick’s focus would remain on interior enforcement of COVID protocols, as well as border controls at Quebec and US borders.
“We want to continue our focus on adherence to the public health rules,” said Higgs. “And that means going into our zones, particularly the orange zones, in businesses and in the community and seeing people that are following the rules.”
Higgs also said the province will keep resources deployed along northern borders with Quebec, and “enhance our activity along the border between Maine and New Brunswick.”
Higgs said Nova Scotia and New Brunswick are aligned in choosing not to focus on their shared border. “I think we’re best served to ensure that we each follow our own protocols, but we avoid unnecessary travel, and when travel is essential that all the precautions are taken. Because the virus is certainly alive and well, and we’re seeing that in both provinces.”