New Brunswick has four new cases of COVID-19, all in Zone 4 (Edmunston).
That leaves the province with 111 active cases, eight of which are in Zone 1 (Moncton).
Five people remain in the hospital, with one patient in intensive care.
The long-suffering Zone 4 has finally joined the rest of the province in the orange level.
Public Health recommended the shift to orange after several days of stabilized case numbers and no new unlinked chains of transmission emerged.
Residents of Zone 4 can now have a “Steady 10,” and many businesses will be able to open their doors.
Dr. Russell and Health Minister Shephard co-announced the province’s updated plan to roll out vaccines.
The province is still vaccinating its first priority group, moving much slower than originally anticipated due to supply delays, but Minister Shephard is optimistic that the first group should be vaccinated by the end of March.
“Because of the lack of vaccines and unexpected changes to delivery schedules, we expect it will take until the end of March to offer the vaccine to everyone in our first priority group, including healthcare workers and individuals 85 and over, ” says Shephard. “Once we have vaccinated all long-term care residents and staff, we will provide clinics for health care workers. We will also be sharing details about how people who are 85 and older can register to be vaccinated in the coming weeks.”
More priority groups will be vaccinated over the spring and early summer, including some rotational workers and those with complex medical conditions.
“Look[ing] ahead to April and May…we can expect to be able to start vaccinating new groups of people. In April, we plan to offer the first dose of the vaccine to everyone over 70, beginning with those aged 80 to 84. In April and May, we will also offer the first dose to residents and staff of communal settings. Healthcare professionals providing direct patient care, like pharmacists and dentists, first responders including firefighters and police officers, home support workers for seniors, people with select complex medical conditions, and long term care volunteers designated support persons, individuals 40 and over with three or more chronic conditions, and truckers, rotational workers and regular cross border work commuters. By June we expect to be able to provide the second dose of vaccine to people over 70 who received their first dose in April or May.”
Health Minister Shephard says that vaccine clinics will soon be set up in Indigenous communities throughout the province.
A clinic will open in the first week of March in Madawaska (Zone 4), and will be set up in more Indigenous communities in the coming months.
As of today, 7,505 New Brunswickers have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Nova Scotia has four new cases of COVID-19, two of which remain under investigation.
PEI has one new travel-related case.
Newfound and Labrador continues its alarming spike with 48 new cases for a total of 380 active cases, not including the presumptive cases awaiting confirmation.
The B117 variant, more commonly known as the UK variant, has been discovered on the island.
In her address on Tuesday, Dr. Russell reminded New Brunswickers that what is happening in Newfoundland can happen here if COVID-19 variants spiral out of control.
