N.B. Reports 17 New Cases Of Covid-19
MONCTON- New Brunswick health officials announced 17 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said the cases are all linked to an outbreak at a special care home in Moncton.
The cause of the outbreak is still under investigation.
This is the largest one-day outbreak New Brunswick has experienced since the pandemic began in March.
“This is certainly a wake up call. One that we didn’t want to see, but one that we’re very concerned might happen. So we’ll learn from this and we’ll make decisions accordingly,” said Premier Blaine Higgs.
Russell reminded residents to remain vigilant, saying that adhering to public health rules had been the key to getting the province to the yellow phase of recovery.
“And it is vital if we are to stay at this level…Each of us has a role to play in keeping New Brunswick in the yellow phase,” she said.
“Monitor your symptoms daily, New Brunswickers. We have easy access to testing now through 811, but also our online form that you can get referred for a test without having to go through 811,” she said.
The new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases related to Manoir Notre-Dame to 19.
Russell said 13 of the cases are residents at the special care home, four are health-care workers, and two are family members who are close contacts of infected people.
Two residents from the home are in stable condition in hospital, she said.
Public Health has identified potential public exposure at the Moncton Costco Optical Centre and at the Moncton St-Hubert restaurant.
People who have visited these locations since Oct. 1 should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
If you develop any COVID-19 symptoms, self-isolate and call 811 to get tested or take the self-assessment online.
Moncton Stays In Yellow Phase For Now
With contact tracing still underway, and all identified cases and their close contacts currently isolated, Russell said a roll back to the orange phase of recovery is still being discussed.
“This is an outbreak in a high vulnerability setting where there is a risk of transmission to the community, so we’re looking at that as well. Once we gather all that information and finish our risk assessment, then we’ll make a decision on whether to go to orange,” she said.
She said Public Health is focused on containing the outbreak and would prefer to do so while staying in the yellow phase.
Modified guidelines on recovery on the government’s website notes that the yellow phase can remain when there are sporadic travel-related cases and isolated outbreaks, and when individual cases and outbreaks can be controlled through testing, tracing and self-isolation.
But if travel-related cases and new chains of community transmission are accelerating, that would be a trigger to return to the orange phase.
That phase would mean:
- Two-household bubbles plus formal or informal caregivers and immediate family members;
- Close-contact personal services like spas and barbershops, as well as gyms, fitness and similar recreational businesses would be closed;
- Casinos, cinemas, arcades and large live performance venues would be closed; and
- Food, beverage and retail business can open with an operational plan and record keeping of attendee information if they have seating, among other things.
“This situation will definitely be a factor around the decision for masks, but the decision will be made tomorrow in our cabinet committee meetings,” said Higgs, who had previously said he could announce a mandatory mask policy as early as October 8.
He also hopes the outbreak won’t change the Atlantic Bubble arrangement, but noted that it will depend on the extent of transmission.
“We’ll know a lot more in several days,” he said.
Higgs says he will meet with other Atlantic provinces’ premiers in the coming weeks.
“If we can contact trace…and get it under control, then I would say it won’t affect the bubble throughout the Atlantic region. But if there are unknowns after several days of tracing and contacting, I’m sure my colleagues will want to know those details, and I’ve already committed to share them completely,” he said.
With files from Brad Perry, news director with Country 94/97.3 The Wave, Huddle content partners.