UPDATE: 32 New COVID-19 Cases, 25 Recoveries

New Brunswick reported 32 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 25 recoveries on Thursday.

For the third straight day, the Edmundston health region (Zone 4) saw the highest number of new cases with 19.

The Moncton health region (Zone 1) reported five new cases while the Saint John (Zone 2) and Fredericton (Zone 3) regions each had three cases.

There were also two new cases reported in the Campbellton region (Zone 5).

Public Health said the number of active COVID-19 cases rose by seven to 324. Three people are in the hospital, including two in intensive care.

Zones 1 through 4 remain in the Red level of recovery while Zones 5 through 7 are at the Orange phase.

Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said the outbreak in Zone 4 is “gravely concerning,” with the virus spreading into workplaces and adult residential facilities.

Six of the new cases announced Thursday in Zone 4 are linked to an outbreak at Nadeau Poultry in Saint-François de Madawaska, she said.

Russell said a lockdown is not as effective as targeted measures but added she will not hesitate to recommend lockdowns, similar to what we saw last spring, if they are needed.

“When we see widespread outbreak and sustained and intensive community spread where cases cannot be traced back to an identified source, a lockdown strategy will become necessary,” she said.

The province’s top doctor said there are promising signs in Zones 1, 2 and 3, where case numbers and hospital admissions appear to be stabilizing, but she cautioned those areas are not out of the woods yet.

“The measures that the government have put in place over the last week need more time to work, but I see some hopeful signs,” Russell said.

Although zones 5, 6, and 7 have fewer case counts, Russell said they remain in orange to prevent the spread of the virus from other zones.

Premier Blaine Higgs said if the situation keeps improving in zones 1, 2, and 3, they could move back to the Orange level within a matter of days.

Cases have been confirmed at three more schools in the province: Riverview High School in Riverview (Zone 1), École Élémentaire Sacré-Cœur in Grand Falls (Zone 4) and École Régionale Saint-Basile in Edmundston (Zone 4).

Riverview High School will be closed for three days to allow for contact tracing and testing of school staff. Students at the two schools in Zone 4 will continue to learn from home until Monday as school staff are tested.

Public Health also declared an outbreak at Le Pavillon Le Royer, a special care home in Edmundston (Zone 4) following a confirmed case on Wednesday.

Dr. Russell also declared the outbreak at Parkland Riverview’s Canterbury Hall over, since there hasn’t been a new case in 14 days. The residents there are being vaccinated Thursday.

On the other hand, Higgs says enforcement officers conducted 327 site visits between Sunday and Wednesday. The issues 20 compliance orders, 20 tickets under the Emergency Measures Act, 23 stop-work orders and another 10 orders under WorkSafe NB, and one administrative penalty under WorkSafe NB.

The offices also made 179 house visits to people self-isolating between Saturday and Wednesday, and found four instances of non-compliance.

“We know that most people are following the rules. But we need all people to follow the rules,” he said.

Higgs updated the province about the immunization campaign as well. While there’s a temporary decrease of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, the vaccine campaign remains “on track,” he said.

The province had set aside some doses earlier to ensure people who have had a first dose can be fully vaccinated with the second dose.