Sackville could be back in the yellow sometime Thursday

Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell gives a briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic, October 19, 2020

Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell says that, “barring any sudden change,” she will be recommending that Zone 1 (the southeast region, which includes Sackville and Tantramar) move back into the yellow phase of public health measures on Thursday.

The decision will be made Thursday morning, October 22, 2020, and announced that day, Russell said in a news conference Monday.

Orange level restrictions were originally announced in Zones 1 and 5 on October 9, and went into effect on October 10, 2020.

Businesses who have closed due to orange phase restrictions could be open Friday morning, she said.

Russell said that recent new cases in Zone 1 have all been in people already self-isolating and known to public health, which means they have very low risk of transmitting the disease to others.

“This is a testament to the people of Zone 1,” she said Monday, “and all of the work that public health has been doing to contain the spread of the infection.”

Russell credited, “not only the actions of the people within the facility [Manoir Notre Dame] but also the actions taken outside of the facility, along with all of our partners who have been helping with the contact tracing and isolating of potential cases.”

ZONE 5 TO REMAIN ORANGE

In the Campbellton region (Zone 5), the orange phase restrictions will continue, because there continues to be a risk of community transmission in that zone.

Russell said that new cases in the Campbellton region have not been occurring in the group of roughly 320 people traced by public health, who have been asked to self isolate. Instead, new cases are occurring outside of that expected group, leaving open the risk of community transmission.

“Be assured that our processes are firmly grounded in science,” said Russell. “These are not arbitrary measures. Our chief goal is the health of New Brunswickers, and this includes mental health, physical health, and our well being with respect to all the social determinants of health, including our income and where we live.”

Russell said that guidelines are not being followed in multiple workplace and social settings in the Campbellton region and repeated her plea for residents to stay six feet apart, wear masks, and limit their close contacts as much as possible. She hinted that further restrictions are on the table if the outbreak is not under control.

“The actions you take will determine how long is outbreak last and when restrictive measures now in place can be lifted,” said Russell. “The last outbreak in the Campbellton region took six weeks to get under control.”

“If we are forced to impose even stronger measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, we will. We have triggers to do that,” she said.

SOURCE OF MONCTON OUTBREAK STILL UNDISCLOSED

Russell was asked again to give more information about the source of the outbreak at Manoir Notre Dame. And again, she refused to say whether the case was related to a person who was required to self-isolate but did not, or whether it was related to an essential worker who was not required to self-isolate.

Earlier in the news conference Premier Blaine Higgs said the province was looking into how to conduct tests for essential workers who travel.

Last week, the province had announced that essential workers who routinely cross the border into Quebec could qualify for bi-weekly asymptomatic testing.

It’s not clear if Higgs’ announcement on Monday means expanding asymptomatic testing to include more essential workers. He said details would be forthcoming.

Russell also acknowledged the risk posed by essential workers travelling across borders, and asked that anyone doing so monitor for symptoms and get tested voluntarily. “We know it’s a gap,” she said. “We know that’s a risk. And we want to really minimize that risk.”

“BE KIND”

Russell also repeated another of her key messages on Monday: be kind.

“When I say to be kind, I mean please don’t jump to conclusions. Please give people the benefit of the doubt. Please don’t bully people or post negative things on social media,” said Russell.

“But I also mean be responsible. Take care of yourself, but take care of your community, your co-workers, your family, your fellow businessmen. Everybody in this province needs your help right now,” she said.

Russell commented that she has heard of businesses refusing to let in customers who are not wearing masks when they have a valid reason for not doing so. “Wearing a mask is important,” she said, “but also being thoughtful in dealing with those who are not able to wear a mask for medical reasons or otherwise.”

“In our own ways, every single one of us needs support in coping with the reality of life at this time with COVID-19,” she said.

ACTIVE CASE UPDATE

As of Monday evening (October 19, 2020), there are 103 active cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick, and 20 active cases in the rest of the Atlantic Provinces.

New Brunswick reported three new cases on Monday, all in the Campbellton region of the province.

Across Canada there are 21,988 active cases of the disease.

There are 8,856 active cases in Quebec, and just over 6,047 in Ontario.

Worldwide, there are over 9 million active cases of COVID-19.

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