(Photo: GNB YouTube)
Phase Three of New Brunswick’s COVID-19 recovery plan is officially underway.
Premier Higgs says the yellow phase starts today, but it will be introduced slowly.
Effective today:
- Your two-household bubble can be extended to close friends and family. It is recommended that gatherings indoors be limited to 10 or fewer people. Continue to keep gatherings as small as possible, especially if you have a vulnerable person in your family or a child who attends daycare.
- Non-regulated health professionals and businesses may open, including acupuncturists and naturopaths.
- Personal services and businesses may open, including barbers, hairstylists, spas, estheticians, manicurists, pedicurists and tattoo artists.
On Friday, May 29:
- Outdoor public gatherings of 50 people or fewer will be permitted with physical distancing.
- Religious services, including wedding and funerals, of 50 people or fewer may take place indoors or outdoors with physical distancing.
- Elective surgeries and other non-emergency health-care services will increase.
- Low-contact team sports will be permitted. Sports may operate as per the guidance provided by their respective national or provincial organizations if they identify means to limit the number and intensity of close contacts during play. Players should check with their local organization to ensure it will be operating. All provincial, regional and local leagues shall maintain operational plans. Sport organizations can contact the Sport and Recreation Branch of the Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture for more information. Youth leagues must ensure that spectators are limited to one accompanying adult per child.
Also on May 29th, the following facilities will be able to open, swimming pools, saunas, waterparks, gyms, yoga and dance studios, rinks, indoor recreational facilities, pool halls and bowling alleys.
The province also says outdoor playgrounds and equipment, can now open, as long as the required stringent cleaning protocols are followed. Playgrounds must be cleaned and sanitized twice a day.
On June 19, overnight camps will be allowed to open.
Premier Higgs says the province will also now be allowing temporary foreign workers to enter the province, starting on May 29.
“We are still prioritizing the safety of New Brunswickers but, as we restart our economy, we also have to find ways to meet the needs of the agriculture and seafood sectors,” said Higgs. “After consulting with the experts, including Public Health authorities, we have determined that the risk to New Brunswickers is now low, as long as strict safety measures remain in place.”
As for the borders, Premier Blaine Higgs says they are our main line of defence here, and they will remain closed for now, “I know that communities that live right on our border, it is a special challenge, but as we ramp up with changes there will be more activity in that regard. What it will look like when we will be able to have seasonal residents come here that own properties depends greatly on wehre they’re coming from and what exposure exists.”
