Nova Scotia will not be changing border protocols to restrict travel to and from New Brunswick due to the orange level restrictions in zones 1 and 5 in the province.
New Brunswick is asking people living in zones 1 and 5 not to travel outside their zones, except for essential reasons. And if they do travel, the province is asking people to follow orange phase protocols wherever they go.
Nova Scotia’s chief Medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang, told reporters on Wednesday that his office will not recommend changes to border protocols.
“In our discussions with New Brunswick, our colleagues have told us that the cases are in known facility, family or social group clusters. They have not identified community spread at this time, and there is no evidence of increased risk to people traveling to or through these areas in New Brunswick,” Strang told reporters Wednesday. “As a result, we are not planning any changes to our border protocols or to restrict travel between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.”
Strang said that Nova Scotians travelling to New Brunswick should simply continue to follow the protocols in place for all Nova Scotians.
“Like all Nova Scotians, people who have recently traveled to or from Campbellton or Moncton are encouraged to monitor their health and complete the online self assessment if they become unwell,” said Strang.
Strang advised anyone travelling to any part of Atlantic Canada to “treat the public health protocols with diligence.”
“Those are the tools we have,” he said, “that we need each and every Nova Scotian to continue to follow, whether they’ve traveled outside of the province or not. If there is an introduction of COVID here that is a key to how we limit its spread within our communities.”
