More Pressure Put on Businesses As Covid Cases Rise in N.B.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick faced another bleak day in terms of Covid-19 news on Monday. Premier Blaine Higgs and Dr. Jennifer Russell confirmed that the province has 15 new active cases of Covid-19 and one more person has died because of the virus.
“I want to send my sincere condolences to the family and the friends of this individual,” said Higgs. “Our thoughts are with you and our province grieves your loss.”
Monday’s press conference came in wake of the huge news the PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador are opting out of the Atlantic Bubble for at least two weeks. Higgs assured people that New Brunswick, for the time being, will remain in the bubble with Nova Scotia.
But even though New Brunswick remains in the bubble, Higgs pleaded with his residents not to travel anywhere unless it is absolutely required. Under the circumstances, Higgs said this is an opportunity to support local businesses for holiday shopping this year.
“Now is not the time to travel to other areas, or do to your holiday shopping,” said Higgs. “We need to shop local. It’s not only time to protect ourselves… it’s a time to support businesses in each of the provinces.”
Higgs may be asking for folks to support businesses financially, but in recent days he has come down hard on the business community, warning business owners that they can be fined or shut down if rules aren’t followed. On top of that, Higgs, on Monday, told restaurants that they are responsible for making sure that they “don’t seat people together who don’t live together.”
Restaurants and other establishments will have the additional responsibility of asking customers for identification, in order to ensure that people are staying within their bubbles when going out to eat. It will also allow contact tracing to be easier if a patron contract Covid-19.
“It’s disappointing to learn that during contact tracing some people have not been giving their real names and contact information when they’ve been asked,” claims Higgs.
Higgs also said that inspectors and police officers are making sure businesses and other establishments are following public health guidelines. The Premier said more than 30 people have already been issued fines recently, most for not wearing a mask.
For parents wondering whether schools will soon be shut down, Dr. Russell said that won’t be happening yet. Those closures would happen if an area was moved to the “red” stage. She also said risk assessments are done on a school-by-school basis.
Higgs was also questioned on Monday about the concerns people have over getting evicted in the middle of the pandemic. Reports have recently surfaced of people losing their homes and having nowhere to turn. When pressed, Higgs said the government has no plans to bring back a ban on evictions.
“We caution that landlords should be very prudent in the exercise of such activities because this is a unique situation, especially being in ‘orange’…and we don’t need to add strain and stress into the community… but at this stage, we don’t have a particular change in our rules to govern that.”