COVID enforcement comes to Sackville
The Hounds of Vintage store on York street in Sackville has been fined under the province’s Emergency Measures Act for what sounds like red tape.
In a post on Instagram, owner Derrick Dixon says two armed and uniformed RCMP officers visited his store on Tuesday and gave him a ticket for not having a government-issue sign on his door and for not having a second copy of his COVID operational plan behind his counter.
The ticket is for non-compliance with the Emergency Measures Act, and comes with a fine of $292.50.
Dixon says his operational plan is posted on his door, and that his shop is safe.
Back on November 15, 2020, as new cases started to be announced in the region, Dixon posted a reminder on social media of the shop’s protocols, which at the time included a maximum of 5 people in the shop at a time, mandatory masks and sanitization, and social distancing.
Dixon posted pictures of both his compliance order and ticket on Instagram.
Constable Christophe Bertrand signed the compliance order, which lists an operational plan, signs on the door, and arrows on the floor.
Dixon says the officers will be back today to ensure he’s met what he calls a “heavy handed compliance order” and, “to either allow me to open or shut me down or fine me.”… Continue
Over half of COVID-19 cases in NB are under age 30
There are five new cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick.
Three of the new cases are in Zone 2 (St. John). The cases are two people under the age of 19, and one person between 30 and 39.
Two of the new cases are in Zone 1 (Moncton). The cases are two people between ages 20 and 29.
During the press conference, Dr. Russell announced that there are six new cases, which included an additional person in Zone 2 between ages 20 to 29.
That information has since been corrected via a provincial news release.
There are currently 93 active cases of COVID-19.
Chief Medical Officer of New Brunswick, Dr. Jennifer Russell, says the province is anticipating more confirmed cases in the coming weeks.
“We actually have a record number of people self isolating across the province following potential exposures, and therefore the risk of further confirmed cases is high.”
YOUNG PEOPLE MAKE UP OVER HALF OF CASES
People under 30 are making up the majority of COVID-19 cases in New Brunswick.
Dr. Russell says that “since the pandemic began in March, people under the age of 30 have comprised only 29.4% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases, but currently they make up more than half of [New Brunswick’s] active caseload.”
53 of the 94 active cases of COVID-19, or 56.3%, are under the age of 30. … Continue
Mount Allison buildings closing to general public
Mount Allison is closing all university buildings, including the Athletic and Fitness Centres, to anyone who is not a student, staff or faculty effective Wednesday, November 25, 2020.
Robert Hiscock, Mount Allison director of marketing and communications, informed students in a letter sent out on Tuesday. Hiscock also alerted students to recent changes in the Atlantic Bubble, and recommendations around avoiding non-essential travel.
The letter says that campus grounds remain open to the public, and that the school is in, “constant communication with the Province of New Brunswick and Public Health.”
“Decisions are being made and considered based on the most up-to-date information and advice from Public Health,” reads the letter.
The last classes of the year for Mount Allison students will take place December 2, 2020, and the last exams will be written December 12, 2020. Then there’s an extended winter break running until classes begin again on January 18, 2021.
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COVID Update: ID checks and mask confusion
At Monday’s news conference, Premier Blaine Higgs spoke about new orange phase enforcement efforts across the province, saying that more than 30 fines were issued over the week for violations of the Emergency Measures Act.
“Almost all were related to failing to wear a mask,” said Higgs. “Officers aren’t just checking mask usage. They are also inspecting businesses in all public places for compliance with the mandatory order which includes, but is not limited to, masking and the presence of COVID operational plans.”
Higgs addressed questions around confusion over outdoor mask rules. The province’s order has a sentence that reads:
“A mask is not required while walking, jogging or cycling with people in the same bubble, where they are unlikely to encounter people, or risk coming within two metres of, people from outside their bubble.”
Some have wondered if this means masks are required walking down a sidewalk even if there’s noone around. Higgs said that anyone who is outside and has the possibility of running into someone within two metres, should be wearing a mask.
In addition to outdoor masks, another requirement of the new orange is the need for bars and restaurants to check the ID of their patrons to make sure they are from the same household, and have given accurate contact tracing information.
“We are expecting owners of establishments to follow the public health rules and in the orange zone health rules do have stronger identification of patrons,” said Higgs.… Continue
COVID update: one more death, 15 new cases, Bubble burst but NS border to remain the same
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.
Horizon Health Network says they are on “high alert”
CHMA attended a media conference with the president and CEO of Horizon Health Network, Karen McGrath, on Monday (November 23).
The following is information collected from said conference.
Enhanced visitor restrictions are in place in orange regions. More details are available here.
McGrath says the “entire health system is now on high alert, and our hospitals are closely reviewing their contingency planning.”
As of today, Horizon is not cancelling elective surgeries.
During the pandemic, New Brunswick has not seen an increase of clinical staff, especially nurses.
As of noon on Monday, 64 Horizon staff are self-isolating.
McGrath explains that covering the missing staff involves “redeploy[ing] staff to other areas in the hospital,” which can result in closing other services.
Staffing is determined “hour by hour,” to ensure that critical resources such as the ICU are functioning.
McGrath says that the worker affected in the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation did not work in other health care settings.
Less people are going to the emergency room, which McGrath says is a cause for concern.
The decrease is “slight,” but McGrath says that during the first wave of COVID-19, a number of people with “true emergencies” did not come due to COVID-19 concerns.
She says “the next few days and weeks are critical to our health care system, we could easily be overwhelmed with very few new cases.”… Continue
The bubble bursts: PEI and NFLD opt for a two-week break, NB stays the course
Both Newfoundland and PEI have announced the reinstatement of 14-day self isolation protocols for travellers coming from the Atlantic provinces, thereby bursting the Atlantic bubble, at least temporarily.
Newfoundland Premier Andrew Furey announced the measure on Monday, saying the change was temporary and would be updated in two weeks. The change comes into effect on Wednesday.
A press release from the province says that any travellers with “extenuating circumstances making the 14 days of self-isolation impossible,” will be able to apply to be tested, and possibly shorten their isolation period.
The province is also saying that non-essential travel outside of Newfoundland and Labrador is not recommended at this time.
Over in PEI, Premier Dennis King made the announcement that the island province would be “suspending our participation in the Atlantic bubble for a two week period.” The measure takes effect at midnight Monday night.
“I don’t believe it is a step backwards for us even though we know it is a tough measure,” said King. “I feel it is a proactive measure, I feel it is a preventative step, and a pre-emptive decision, which we hope will allow us to maintain the level of almost ordinary life that we have been enjoying in this province.”
Premier Blaine Higgs announced Monday afternoon that New Brunswick would not join PEI and Newfoundland in imposed self-isolation requirements for travellers from the bubble.… Continue
Town push on for a Sackville chapter of Chamber of Commerce
The town of Sackville is encouraging local businesses to join the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce and form a Sackville chapter.
Erica Butler speaks with CAO Jamie Burke to find out more. Listen here:
TRANSCRIPT:
ERICA BUTLER:
What’s the town’s pitch to get local businesses to join the Greater Moncton Chamber?
JAMIE BURKE:
So I guess the the main pitch is that there’s a bit of a discount on, where we’re looking to pay half of the membership fee to get the initiative off the ground. So if a business owner is interested in joining the Chamber… The overall intent is to create a Sackville chapter of the Chamber of Commerce of Greater Moncton… Then the town of Sackville will subsidize the membership fee by 50%.
EB:
And how many businesses are required to form a Sackville chapter?
JB:
We don’t have a threshold. The more the better, of course, but I guess we originally were hoping that we’d get at least 15 to 20. And that would kind of give us that critical mass to make it worthwhile.
EB:
Are the costs for joining a chamber of commerce… I don’t even know have any idea how big they are. Are they relative to the size of the business, or is there just a set fee?
JB:
No, you got it, it’s relative to the size of the business.
EB:
So depending on how big the businesses that are that join, that will determine what the town’s contribution is as well.… Continue