Edmundston Zone Is Moving To ‘Red’
FREDERICTON – Public Health reported 36 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, the highest total since the pandemic began.
24 of the new cases were found in the Edmundston Zone 4 region, the highest daily total that has been reported in any region.
As a result, the province has decided Zone 4 will transition to the red phase of pandemic recovery.
Today’s announcement included cases reported in five different health zones. The breakdown of new cases is as follows
- Zone 1 (Moncton) – five new cases
- Zone 2 (Saint John) – four new cases
- Zone 3 (Fredericton) – two new cases
- Zone 4 (Edmundston) – 24 new cases
- Zone 6 (Bathurst) – one new case
There are now 292 active cases in the province, and one person is in the hospital.
947 cases have been reported since the pandemic began, and 647 have recovered.
Changes to Red phase
The provincial government has changed the guidelines that would have meant all school is conducted virtually during the red phase.
In the red phase, students and staff are asked to stay home if they have just one COVID-19 symptom.
Staff will also be actively screened upon arriving at school.
Schools under the red phase that do report a positive case will also close for a minimum of three days in order for contact tracing to take place. The school would then be used as a testing site for staff members.
Positive cases at schools
The province also announced cases had been discovered at four more cases in the Saint John and Moncton regions.
In the Saint John area, Millidgeville North School and Belleisle Elementary School in Springfield each had a confirmed case.
Both schools are slated to be open Monday, and contact tracers will only be in touch with those who are believed to have been close contacts of the case.
In the Moncton region, Riverview East School and Caledonia Regional High School had positive cases.
Students and staff at Caledonia Regional have been asked to remain home as contact tracing efforts continue.
The province said school staff would be in contact with families to notify them of any changes to learning procedures.
Ben Burnett is a reporter with Country 94/97.3 The Wave in Saint John, Huddle content partners.