New Brunswick has no plans to tighten COVID-19 restrictions for now, despite reporting a record 174 new cases on Thursday.
Chief medical health officer Dr. Jennifer Russell and Health Minister Dorothy Shephard will provide an update on the COVID-19 situation at 2:30 p.m. Friday.
A media advisory from the province shed light on what might be announced — or not announced — at the briefing.
“Please note that as hospitalizations remain manageable and the majority of schools are operating normally, the province will remain in Level 1 of the COVID-19 Winter Plan at this time,” said the advisory.
Under Level 1, which officials describe as the “least restrictive” of the three phases, up to 20 people are allowed at informal indoor household gatherings, and 50 at informal outdoor gatherings.
As of Thursday, there were 40 people in the hospital across the province with COVID-19, including 16 in intensive care.
Trends from the province show the seven-day average for hospitalizations has fallen from 62.1 on Dec. 2 to 46.4 on Dec. 9. During the same period, the province reported 10 deaths related to COVID-19.
Several criteria have been established that will determine whether a zone or region needs to move into or out of a level. The province said any one item can lead to a risk assessment but does not mean an area automatically changes levels.
Moving from Level 1 to Level 2:
- Increasing seven-day average of new cases
- Positivity rate of 10 per cent provincially or in any single zone
- 70 active hospitalizations provincially or 30 active ICU hospitalizations
- Public Health resources unable to contact cases or sites of exposure within a reasonable time frame
Moving from Level 2 to Level 3:
- Increasing seven-day average of new cases
- Positivity rate of 15 per cent provincially or in any single zone
- 100 active hospitalizations provincially or 50 active ICU hospitalizations
- Increasing seven-day average new hospital admissions
- Public Health resources unable to maintain and manage contact tracing
Moving back a level would require a decreasing seven-day average of new cases and hospital admissions.
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