New Brunswick has 30 new cases of COVID-19, the majority of which are in Zone 4 (Edmunston).
None of those new cases are in Zone 1.
Mount Allison’s Acting Vice-President, International and Student Affairs Anne Comfort updated students and staff to confirm that so far, Public Health has determined that the one off-campus case has not spread to anyone else in the Mount Allison community.
Some close contacts of that person still have to self-isolate for 14 days and undergo more testing, just to be safe.
With 24 new cases in Zone 4, parts of the Edmunston region entered a Red level “circuit breaker” last night at 6PM.
Dr. Russell confirmed that 64% of all active cases in Zone 4 are confirmed or suspected cases of the B117 or UK variant.
The red phase restrictions will last for at least four days to make time for contact tracing and mass testing.
Dr. Russell is concerned that with the presence of the more transmissible, the cases could spread quickly.
“The variant does affect younger populations compared to the strain that we have been dealing with in the past. So everyone needs to take this seriously,” says Dr. Russell. “Since March 1st, 56%, of reported cases are confirmed or suspected of being the UK variant here in New Brunswick.
Dr. Russell was also able to confirm that there is just one confirmed case of the B117 variant in Zone 1, which is the case in the off-campus Mount Allison community.
After receiving multiple complaints that some pharmacies in Zone 1 didn’t have enough vaccines to book all those eligible, CHMA asked about the supply of vaccines compared to the number of people eligible.
Minister Shephard says that the province receives around 24,000 doses of Pfizer per week, and that if someone can’t make an appointment at their local pharmacy to try another one.
“While a pharmacy may not have the doses for the phone calls they receive, we are anxious to tell everybody that they don’t have to go to their regular pharmacy. They can continue to call other pharmacies and make appointments as they are available,” says Shephard.
“We can only give out the amount of vaccines we have. We’re basing our announcements on who qualifies for vaccines based on on the average numbers that we have for the categories we are talking about, and on the vaccine supply that we are receiving from the federal government. So we can only put out the vaccine we receive.”
New Brunswickers aged 40 and over with three or more chronic conditions are now eligible to be vaccinated between Horizon Health or Vitalitie Clinics.
Those conditions include heart disease, stroke, neurological conditions, respiratory disease, diabetes (type 1 and 2), kidney disease, liver disease, obesity, HIV, or if you’re on immunosuppression therapies.
Please note that if you have a severe respiratory disease, you are eligible for early vaccination even if you don’t have three or more conditions.
The same goes for certain immunocompromising conditions such as chemotherapy.
The full list of chronic conditions is available here.
Those eligible can make an appointment online, or by calling 1-833-437-1424.
With just 18 days to go until high school students return to class full-time, teachers and staff at Tantramar Regional High School will receive their COVID-19 vaccines today in Moncton.
High school students aged 16 and older who are Indigenous or have a complex medical condition specified on gnb.ca are also eligible to be vaccinated.
