FREDERICTON (GNB) – Public Health reported today that 81.6 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 90.8 per cent have received their first dose of a vaccine.
“I am particularly pleased to see that the number of people getting first doses is rising again,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “This shows that our measures to encourage vaccination are having the desired effect. But that still leaves 128,000 eligible New Brunswickers who are not yet fully protected against this virus, including 69,000 who have yet to receive their first dose. This is where the greatest risk now lies.”
All provincial government employees, staff in long-term care facilities and staff and volunteers in schools and licensed early learning and child-care facilities must be fully vaccinated by Friday, Nov. 19.
A booster dose of an mRNA vaccine is being administered to residents in nursing homes and other communal settings who have already received two doses of a vaccine.
If you have not yet had your first or second dose, you are asked to go to a walk-in clinic or book an appointment through a participating pharmacy or at a Vitalité or Horizon health network clinic as soon as possible.
All eligible New Brunswickers can book their second-dose appointments for a date that is at least 28 days after their first dose.
Those attending a vaccination clinic are asked to bring their Medicare card, a signed consent form and, for those receiving their second dose, a copy of the record of immunization provided after receiving their first dose.
A list of upcoming mobile and walk-in clinics is available online.
52 of 63 hospitalized not fully vaccinated
Public Health reported 109 new cases of COVID-19 today and 54 recoveries. Of the new cases, 72 – or 66 per cent – are unvaccinated, five – or five per cent – are partially vaccinated, and 32 – or 29 per cent – are fully vaccinated.
There are 63 people hospitalized due to the virus, with 27 in an intensive care unit. There is one person under the age of 19 currently hospitalized. Of those in hospital, 48 are unvaccinated, four are partially vaccinated and 11 are fully vaccinated. Of the 27 in an intensive case unit, 19 are unvaccinated, three are partially vaccinated and five are fully vaccinated. The number of active cases is 1,092. The total number of COVID-19-related deaths in the province is 75.
“The Delta variant during the fourth wave of the pandemic has hit our province much harder than previous waves, and we are all feeling this impact,” said Health Minister Dorothy Shephard. “The high case count and high numbers of hospitalizations we have experienced in recent weeks have led to new measures coming into effect. These steps are necessary to find a balance between living our lives as normally as possible while reducing the impact on our health-care system.”
“The evidence is clear: if you are unvaccinated, you are 18 times more likely to become severely ill if you contract the COVID-19 virus,” said Russell. “It also shows that the vaccines are very good at preventing serious illness, hospitalization and death among those infected with the COVID-19 virus.”
Compliance over Thanksgiving long weekend
From Friday night through Monday, officers and inspectors responded to 28 calls for service and conducted more than 600 inspections of stores, restaurants, licensed establishments, events, entertainment and fitness venues and several private dwellings. Ten self-isolation orders were issued to people who arrived at a New Brunswick border without proof of vaccination, and one compliance order was issued in Moncton in connection with care required when checking proof of vaccination at a venue.
As part of these inspections, peace officers visited 63 places of worship to ensure they were following the rules, and 62 of the 63 were found to be in full compliance.
“I am deeply appreciative that nearly every religious leader and faith community in New Brunswick is doing the right thing by their community and their province,” said Shephard. “They are requiring proof of vaccination or having smaller, distanced, masked gatherings, or they are taking their celebrations online temporarily. These are tough decisions, but necessary ones, and I appreciate the leadership being shown.”
Rapid-testing program underway in schools
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development has collaborated with Public Health to develop a new rapid-testing program for schools to help minimize disruptions to learning due to COVID-19 outbreaks.
Beginning today, unvaccinated students who are identified as a close contact of a confirmed case may be provided with quantities of five-pack rapid tests, depending on the last possible exposure date to the confirmed case, along with instructions. Tests will be picked up by parents the following day, depending upon when the school is notified of a confirmed case.
Students with two negative tests and no symptoms will be able to return to the classroom after as little as 24 hours of self-isolation, unless otherwise advised by Public Health. They will be required to continue testing daily until the end of the period, as prescribed by Public Health, to continue attending school.
Students and staff, regardless of vaccination status, must stay home and get a PCR test through Public Health if they have even one symptom.
Students who are vaccinated or are participating in rapid testing who have no symptoms may also continue to engage in extracurricular activities as they regularly would.
Confirmed cases in schools and child-care facilities
Positive cases have been confirmed in schools and child-care facilities in zones 1 (Moncton region), 2 (Saint John region), 3 (Fredericton region), 4 (Edmundston region), 5 (Campbellton region) and 6 (Bathurst region) since Friday, Oct. 8.
The respective school or child-care communities have been notified. If you or a family member have been in close contact with a case, you will be notified by Public Health or the school or facility for contact tracing. If you are not notified directly, you have not been identified as a close contact.
As per New Brunswick’s Healthy and Safe Schools guidelines, schools with cases will close or move to online learning for at least one calendar day to support contact tracing, risk assessments and operational responses. Districts have contacted families directly with specific information regarding any impact on learning, including information on home learning, if required.
Zone 1 (Moncton region) – A case or cases have been confirmed at the following schools: Lewisville Middle School; École le Sommet; Sunny Brae Middle School, all located in Moncton; and École Mont-Carmel in Sainte-Marie-de-Kent. A new case or cases have been confirmed in the following previously impacted schools: École le Mascaret; Northrop Frye School; Queen Elizabeth School; École Sainte-Bernadette; Hillsborough Elementary School; École l’Odyssée; Beaverbrook School; Evergreen Park School; Maplehurst Middle School; École Champlain; Birchmount School; Harrison Trimble High School; Moncton High School, all located in Moncton; and École Sainte-Thérèse in Dieppe. A case was also confirmed at PowerPlay Academy Moncton 4.
Zone 2 (Saint John region) – A case was confirmed at Chris Saunders Memorial Elementary School in Quispamsis. A new case or cases have been confirmed at the following previously impacted schools: Hampton Middle School; Hampton Elementary School; and Campobello Consolidated School.
Zone 3 (Fredericton region) – A case or cases have been confirmed at the following schools: Bliss Carman Middle School in Fredericton and Nackawic Senior High School. A new case or cases have been confirmed at the following previously impacted schools: Liverpool Elementary School in Fredericton and Hartland Community School.
Zone 4 (Edmundston region) – A case was confirmed at École Régionale-de-Saint-André. A new case or cases have been confirmed at the following previously impacted schools: École Saint-Jacques and Carrefour de la Jeunesse, both located in Edmundston. A new case was also confirmed at Garderie du Domaine in Edmundston, which was previously impacted.
Zone 5 (Campbellton region) – A case or cases have been confirmed at the following schools: Académie Notre-Dame in Dalhousie and École la Mosaïque du Nord in Balmoral. A new case or cases have been confirmed at the following previously impacted schools: Sugarloaf Senior High School; Polyvalente Roland-Pépin, both located in Campbellton; and École Aux quatre vents in Dalhousie. A case was also confirmed at Garderie Tourbillon de Soleil in Balmoral.
Zone 6 (Bathurst region) – A case has been confirmed at École la Ruche in Tracadie-Sheila.
Zone 7 (Miramichi region) – A case has been confirmed at Carrefour Beausoleil in Miramichi. New cases were also confirmed at King Street Elementary School in Miramichi which was previously impacted.
Since Sept. 7, 94 schools and 47 early learning and child-care facilities have had confirmed cases of COVID-19. In the coming days, a new dashboard will be available on the Healthy and Safe Schools website.
Circuit breaker in areas with high transmission now in effect
Due to the high number of COVID-19 transmissions, a 14-day circuit breaker went into effect at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 8, for certain areas of the province.
These areas are Zone 1 (Moncton region) as far north as and including Sainte-Anne-de-Kent and including Havelock in Zone 2; the northern portion of Zone 3 from and including Deerville and Florenceville-Bristol; and all of Zone 4 (Edmundston region), including Menneval in Zone 5.
More information about the circuit breaker rules, including a detailed list and map of affected communities, is available online.
When you show proof of vaccination or proof of exemption from vaccination, you must also show government-issued ID, such as a driver’s licence, birth certificate or Medicare card. Businesses and organizers of events may accept copies, including photos and photocopies, of government-issued ID where proof of full vaccination with a government-issued ID is required.
Regional breakdown of new cases
The 32 new cases in Zone 1 (Moncton region) are as follows:
- 14 people 19 and under;
- four people 20-29;
- six people 30-39;
- five people 40-49; and
- three people 60-69.
Twenty-six cases are under investigation and six are contacts of previously confirmed cases.
The 22 new cases in Zone 2 (Saint John region) are as follows:
- eight people 19 and under;
- three people 20-29;
- a person 30-39;
- three people 40-49;
- four people 50-59;
- two people 60-69; and
- a person 70-79.
Thirteen cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases and nine are under investigation.
The 17 new cases in Zone 3 (Fredericton region) are as follows:
- four people 19 and under;
- three people 20-29;
- two people 30-39;
- two people 40-49;
- a person 50-59;
- three people 60-69; and
- two people 70-79.
Nine cases are under investigation and eight are contacts of previously confirmed cases.
The 11 new cases in Zone 4 (Edmundston region) are as follows:
- three people 19 and under;
- a person 20-29;
- a person 50-59;
- two people 60-69;
- two people 70-79;
- a person 80-89; and
- a person 90 and over.
Seven cases are under investigation and four are contacts of previously confirmed cases.
The 20 new cases in Zone 5 (Campbellton region) are as follows:
- three people 19 and under;
- four people 20-29;
- a person 30-39;
- two people 40-49;
- five people 50-59;
- a person 60-69;
- two people 70-79; and
- two people 80-89.
Sixteen cases are under investigation and four are contacts of previously confirmed cases.
The three new cases in Zone 6 (Bathurst region) are as follows:
- a person 19 and under;
- a person 20-29; and
- a person 30-39.
Two cases are under investigation and one is a contact of a previously confirmed case.
The four new cases in Zone 7 (Miramichi region) are as follows:
- two people 19 and under;
- a person 40-49; and
- a person 60-69.
All four cases are under investigation.
Additional information is available on the COVID-19 dashboard.
Potential public exposures
Anyone with symptoms of the virus, as well as anyone who has been at the site of a possible public exposure, is urged to request a test online to get an appointment.
A map of potential public exposures can also be found on the COVID-19 dashboard.
12-10-21