Mount A reports three cases, Port Elgin school moves online for the week
Mount Allison University is reporting three presumptive cases of COVID-19 that were identified through rapid testing. Three people who live on campus reported positive rapid tests results directly to the university and are currently self-isolating and awaiting a PCR test to confirm results.
In an email to staff and students on Monday evening, VP International and Student Affairs Anne Comfort says that at this point, these cases are not deemed to be connected to a case in the off campus community identified last week.
Comfort says that all known close contacts of the positive cases are also self-isolating and awaiting testing. The university is delivering rapid test kits to all residents and delivering meals to all those self-isolating.
The university is encouraging students in residence who are without symptoms to take a rapid test, and prohibiting visitors in residence, including other Mount Allison students.
Rapid test kits are available at the Mount Allison Students Union office or the Wellness Centre, both located in the student centre. Rapid test kits are also available on Tuesdays from 10am to 2:30pm in the Tantramar Civic Centre parking lot.
Port Elgin Regional School online all week
On Monday, Port Elgin Regional School had an operational day due to a COVID case in the community, and the school will continue on at home learning for the rest of the week.
Due to shared bussing, this resulted in three bus cancellations on Monday affecting students at Salem, Marshview and Tantramar Regional High School.… Continue
Sackville loses 51 doses of Moderna due to no-shows and last minute cancellations
Due to an unusually high number of no shows and last minute appointment cancellations, about 51 doses of Moderna vaccine were lost after Wednesday’s COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Sackville. On the flip side, nearly 600 doses of Moderna were administered at the Vitalité clinic.
Clinic staff started the day prepared to administer 649 doses of Moderna vaccine, but on the day of the clinic, more than 100 no shows and last minute cancellations came in. Health department spokesperson Shawn Berry says, “when staff became aware of the situation, they took immediate action.”
At about 11:30am, Vitalité opened up the clinic to walk-in appointments for anyone seeking a first dose of a Moderna vaccine. Then at around 3:30pm, Vitalité announced via Twitter that anyone looking for a first or second dose could stop by at the clinic. They also announced the clinic would remain open until all doses were used.
In the end, the clinic remained open until 7:23pm, and about half of the doses reserved for cancelled appointments were lost.
“As more and more New Brunswickers are getting vaccinated or have appointments,” says Berry, “there are fewer people available when we post walk-ins.”
Clinic staff made efforts to spread the word, says Berry.… 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
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
COVID Update: 6 new cases in Zone 1, new testing method for kids
Public Health reports eight new cases in New Brunswick today, six of which are in Zone 1 (Moncton region).
The cases are in the following age demographics:
one individual 19 and under, three people 20 to 29, one individual 30 to 39, and one individual 40 to 49.
Zone 1 now has 13 active cases of COVID-19, most of which were reported in the past three days.
The other two cases from today are in Zone 3 (Fredericton region), and are two people between 20 to 29.
The province has 28 active cases, double the amount from three days ago.
All cases are under investigation and self-isolating.
“SWISH AND GARGLE” TEST AVAILABLE FOR KIDS
Children between ages four and 11 can be tested for COVID-19 with a “swish and gargle” method.
Dr. Jennifer Russell says that while the nose swab is the recommended method for testing, the “swish and gargle method” is available for children who are unable to be swabbed.
She recommends that parents and kids watch a video of the “swish and gargle” test at home before going to the testing site.
MULTIPLE POTENTIAL EXPOSURE LOCATIONS IN ZONE 1
Tandoori Zaika Cuisine and Bar (196 Robinson Street, Moncton) has been identified by Public Health as a location of potential exposure to COVID-19.
Anyone who visited the establishment on November 8th between 1am and 2am should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days.… Continue
NB COVID update: still no cases, more testing called for
New Brunswick is continuing its streak of no new reported cases of COVID-19 in the province. As of Monday it’s been 9 days without a new reported case. Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell shared the good news in yesterday’s briefing, but not without some reservations.
“We are no where near ready to declare victory over the COVID-19 virus, as heartening as it is to report no new cases,” Russell said. “COVID-19 is still with us. It will be with us for a very long time. And we need to be able to accurately track its progress and contain outbreaks when they emerge until a vaccine or other treatment becomes widely available.”
Russell asked New Brunswickers to make sure they are getting tested when they need to. Currently, anyone with two of the following five symptom should be getting tested:
- a fever above 39 degrees Celsius
- a persistent cough
- a sore throat,
- a headache,
- and a runny nose.
Russell said the number of symptoms that trigger testing may be adjusted down in the coming days, to ensure that people are indeed getting tested. The province’s testing capacity is 1000 tests per day, however current testing numbers are not reaching that threshold. Currently, New Brunswick has completed just over 13,000 tests across the province, or about 17 tests for every 100 people. That’s on par with other provinces where the outbreak has been small. Russell said capacity will go up to 2000 in the weeks to come.… Continue