Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, speaks during a COVID-19 briefing in Fredericton, N.B. (GNB YouTube)
Public Health in New Brunswick reported 23 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.
The cases are located in the following regions:
Zone 1 (Moncton region): 7 cases
Zone 2 (Saint John region): 2 cases
Zone 3 (Fredericton region): 4 cases
Zone 4 (Edmundston region): 5 cases
Zone 5 (Campbellton region): 4 cases
Zone 6 (Bathurst region): 1 cases
Dr. Jennifer Russell began the briefing by speaking about the three people who died this week. Twelve people have died in relation to the virus so far.
“Your loss is our loss,” Dr. Russell said.
While seven more recoveries have been reported since Wednesday, there are now 246 active cases in the province, including three people in hospital.
“Our situation remains grim with no let-up of rising cases across the province,” she said.
Two-hundred of those cases were reported between December 7 and January 7. The first 100 were reported in 27 days, the next 100 were reported in four days.
“That’s an increase, in terms of doubling time, that we’re not comfortable with at this time,” Dr. Russell said, adding that some of those positive cases could become hospitalized.
As of Thursday, 2,161 people are in self-isolation.
Even so, New Brunswick is faring much better than its neighbouring jurisdictions, and better than what was expected at the beginning of the pandemic, Dr. Russell said.
The government had, at the time, released modeling that projected the province could see up to 5,600 Covid-19 deaths over the cause of the pandemic, and 550 deaths with the most stringent public health measures.
“Thankfully, we have experienced only a fraction of that loss to date, thanks to the effort that all New Brunswickers have made to prevent the spread of the virus,” she said.
She repeated a call to download the COVID Alert app and a call to follow the public health protocols and be patient with contact tracers. She urged people to reach out to anyone they know who are working on the front lines.
On the other hand, the vaccination campaign continues. She said vaccination clinics will start on Friday in Zone 2, the Saint John health zone.
Dr. Russell said it’s not recommended that people who are currently ill with COVID-19 be vaccinated.
She understands there are people that don’t want to wait for a vaccine and wish they were higher up on the list.
“The last leg of our journey through the pandemic will be the hardest,” Dr. Russell said.
Premier Blaine Higgs said 2,700 more doses arrived in the province on Thursday and will be used for long term care homes staff and residents. Another 3,900 additional doses will be allocated for healthcare workers through various clinics across the province.
He said moving to the red phase is not the plan for now as the current outbreaks are “contained”.
Although the red phase is a “last resort,” he said the province could go there if the community spread of the virus and outbreaks cannot be controlled, if hospitals start to become overwhelmed, and public health measures are no longer effective.
In the red phase, K-12 schools would be moved to virtual learning only and many businesses will have to shut down.
“The potential impact on New Brunswickers’ mental health and our economy will be severe,” he said.
Higgs said while most businesses are following health protocols, “we are unfortunately, still finding non-compliance.”
He said inspectors visited 172 sites earlier this week and found that most were fully compliant, with 99.4 percent of patrons wearing masks. But only 88.9 percent of employees wore masks. Two employees and one retail business were ticketed for not wearing masks.
The inspectors also found two businesses were not following their operational plan, and 14 had plans that were inadequate. Twenty-three businesses still don’t have a plan at all.
“Nearly 10 months into state of emergency, that is simply not acceptable,” Higgs said, adding that businesses must have operational plans that they follow strictly.
While the inspectors had treated most of the cases by giving more information, two businesses were required to shut down and nine got “written directives to help them respect the rules immediately.”
“Going forward, when inspectors and officers find businesses with inadequate plans or no plan at all, they will issue them fines or shut them down,” Higgs said. “Businesses that fail to follow rules will be subjected to up to $10,000 of fines.”
Higgs also spoke sternly about individuals who broke self-isolation rules by going to shop for paint, take walks outside their homes or other means.
