N.B. Maintains Current COVID-19 Restrictions For Now

The current COVID-19 restrictions in New Brunswick will remain in place for at least a few more days.

Public Health had hoped to enter Phase 1 of its “Path to Green” plan on Monday, provided that 75 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

As of Monday morning, that number stood at 70.3 per cent, with 487,408 New Brunswickers aged 12 and older receiving their first dose.

Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, recommended Monday that current restrictions remain in place until the 75 per cent goal is reached.

Russell said there is an “ample supply” of vaccine ready for use, adding that appointments are available at regional health authority clinics and at participating pharmacies.

Premier Blaine Higgs said he is confident we will reach that goal “in the coming days.”

Under the first phase of the path to green, the guidelines will include the following:

• No isolation or testing will be required for those travelling to New Brunswick from Atlantic Canada and the Avignon and Témiscouata regions of Quebec, with the exception of Nova Scotia.
• Compassionate travel will be permitted with isolation and testing requirements in place.
• Cross border commuters and truck drivers will no longer be subject to testing and isolation requirements.
• Other workers, including rotational workers, travelling outside of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Avignon and Témiscouata will be required to isolate and take a COVID-19 test between days five and seven before they can discontinue isolation, unless they have an existing work-isolation plan.
• Contact with all family and friends will be permitted and restrictions will be loosened for indoor and outdoor gatherings.
• Organized sporting activities will be permitted, but restricted to teams based in Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, Avignon and Témiscouata.
• Faith gatherings can take place with a maximum 50 per cent venue capacity and with the choir at least four metres from the congregation.

Premier Higgs remains confident that the province will achieve the targets for phases 2 and 3 of reopening. When asked about how today’s announcement will affect the next phase, Higgs reiterated that the province’s plan is still “very much intact.”

“If we receive 75% of people that have taken a vaccine, we’re pretty sure they’ll take a second one. So, 20% by July first should not be a problem.”

To reach phase 2, Public Health will require 75% of eligible individuals to have at least one dose of a vaccine, and 20% of New Brunswickers 65 and older to have received their second dose.

In addition, all regions must remain in the Yellow alert level, and hospitalizations must be low.

A notable guideline for this phase is that Canadian travellers with one shot of a vaccine will be allowed into the province without needing to isolate.

Booking Second Doses

Russell also announced a phased-in approach to booking second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

As of Monday, June 7, anyone who received their first dose before April 1 is eligible to book their second dose.

That will be expanded on June 14 to include anyone who received their first dose in April. As of June 21, anyone who received their first dose more than 28 days prior will be eligible.

Public Health announced just one new case of COVID-19 on Monday. It involves a person in the Fredericton health region, Zone 3.

New Brunswick now has 111 active cases of the virus, with 23 more recoveries reported since Sunday.

Four patients in total are hospitalized. Three patients are hospitalized in New Brunswick, including one in an intensive care unit. One patient is hospitalized out of province in an intensive care unit.