During Thursday’s COVID-19 update, Dr. Russell reminded New Brunswickers that the virus does not take a holiday break.
Dr. Russell cited the increase of COVID-19 cases in the United States after American Thanksgiving as an example of a post-holiday spike.
Though she gave self-isolation instructions, Dr. Russell urges New Brunswickers to stay home for the holidays.
Meg Cunningham: Good afternoon my question is for Dr. Russell. Can you walk me through the steps, from start to finish, that a person would have to take to visit a friend or family member for the holidays in a different province, in order to do so safely and within Public Health guidelines?
Dr. Jennifer Russell: Well, I think all of my colleagues across the country would say that non-essential travel is not advised. So going to visit a family member or a friend is non-essential travel, and it’s not advised. So that’s the number one point that again, my colleagues across the country, including the Atlantic Bubble, have been messaging to their citizens [and] to their provinces. We want to get through the holiday season as safely as possible so that we don’t see spikes in January. We are really, really concerned that gatherings over the holidays and travel over the holidays will contribute to that. So that’s the first and foremost thing, is there are risks right now [with] traveling because the numbers are so high all across this country, and all across the US. So there’s not really a safe place that you can travel from that we wouldn’t be concerned about you arriving here. If you do choose to come to New Brunswick, you need to self isolate for 14 days. You need to do that self-isolation as safely as possible. The safest way to do the self-isolation is to rent a place or Airbnb or a hotel or whatever, stay in a location by yourself. If you have to self-isolate in a household with other people, you must have your own bedroom, you must have your own bathroom, you must eat your meals separate from the rest of the household members, you must stay in a different room from them, you must wear a mask at all time you must disinfect, there is a safe way to do it. And if it’s done safely, then people will be protected. But if there are any shortcuts taken or any errors made, the risk to the household members is there. We just don’t want to see that happening over the holidays, and we certainly don’t want that to contribute to increased numbers of cases in January.
Bruce MacFarlane: Cunningham, do you have a follow up?
MC: I do. So based on what you just said, it sounds as though you’re saying that while it is technically permitted to travel interprovincially, you are discouraging it.
JR: Absolutely.
Dr. Russell says that families and friends may be separated this year, but they can still take care of one another from a distance.
JR: When I think of the holidays and I think about what all families do with respect to their traditions. Whether it’s around a tree, a dinner table, a church or religious service, or what have you. Many of us will not be able to have our families with us this year. For many New Brunswickers, this holiday season may be a sad and lonely time. I think lots of people suffer from mental health issues around the holiday season, regardless of the pandemic, but the pandemic certainly makes it worse. So please look after each other. Even if you can’t be together, you can still reach out. You can share the joy of the holiday season and promise that we will all be together when we can have a green holiday, hopefully a year from now.
Premier Blaine Higgs echoed Dr. Russell’s comments, and added that his own children will not be travelling home to visit this year.
In vaccine news, 1950 individuals are scheduled to receive the first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine this weekend.
More doses are anticipated to arrive at the end of the month, which will be administered in early January 2021.
Blaine Higgs: Next week we expect to receive an additional 3900 doses of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. We will keep 1950 doses of that shipment in reserve to provide this first group of people with their second dose during the weekend of January 9 and 10th in Miramichi. We will use the remaining 1950 doses to administer the vaccine to 975 additional people during a clinic that has been organized during the week of December 28. In Moncton, where we also now have a freezer capacity, we will retain the other 975 doses for this group’s second dose. We will be contacting people in the identified priority groups soon to begin setting up appointments at this second clinic, including those who aren’t able to attend the first clinic.
Dr. Russell is expecting all New Brunswickers who want the COVID-19 vaccine to be inoculated by June or July of next year.
