N.B. Premier Says Atlantic Canadian Borders Should Open In Early July
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick has moved to the next stage of the Yellow recovery phase, except for the Campbellton Zone 5 region, which remains in the Orange phase. The province also expects an “Atlantic Bubble” with open borders between the provinces to be in place in early July.
“This new phase will allow more gathering, more activities, more access to family and more travel from outside the province,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “We are learning as we go and incorporating new information at each step.”
Russell said with the number of cases is decreasing as recoveries increase, Canada, and New Brunswick, are in a much better place than many other jurisdictions in the world. The province’s healthcare system is also more prepared now to handle Covid-19 cases.
No new cases were reported Friday. So far, New Brunswick has 164 confirmed cases, with two deaths, and 135 recovered. There are still 27 active cases, and two patients are hospitalized – one in an ICU.
Russell says New Brunswickers should still maintain physical distancing where possible, wear a mask if distancing is not possible, wash their hands and clean regularly touched surfaces, and keep the number of their close contacts low. She says new cases are still expected to pop up down the line.
“New cases are not a sign of failure, they’re a reality. They will happen and we need to be ready for them, but again, with each and every case, with each and every outbreak, we’re learning more and more information that we can use in the future,” she said. “Our goal remains the protection of the most vulnerable citizen and securing our healthcare system and isolating new cases when they emerge. This won’t change.”
Outside of Zone 5, starting Friday, June 19:
- Overnight camps are allowed to open;
- All organized sports are permitted with appropriate distancing and sanitizing;
- New Brunswick residents no longer need to self-isolate when returning from work in another Canadian province or territory but they should self-monitor;
- Canadian residents owning property in New Brunswick will be allowed to enter as long as they self-isolate for 14 days, or the duration of their visit if it is shorter than that;
- Canadian residents can visit family members in New Brunswick provided they self-isolate for 14 days, or the duration of their visit if it is shorter than 14 days.
- The 50 people cap of people gathering in controlled venues is lifted. Occupancy is based on the ability to maintain physical distancing between participants that are not close friends and family. This includes churches, swimming pools, saunas, waterparks, rinks, indoor recreational facilities, organized sports and cultural spaces.
- Indoor events with controlled entry or seating have to maintain a record of to maintain attendees’ contact information to allow Public Health to follow-up in case of exposure;
- Indoor visits with one visitor at a time for residents of long-term care facilities will be allowed, if the facilities are able to do so. If the visitor requires support, two visitors at a time will be permitted.
If the number of cases remains manageable and it’s confirmed there’s no community outbreak, on Friday, June 26, all remaining businesses can open with appropriate distancing and sanitizing, as well as operational plans prior to opening.
Zone 5 will also move fully into the Yellow level with the rest of the province if the outbreak continues to be managed.
“As I’ve said before, we can’t stand still forever. We must get on with our lives and adjust to this new normal,” Russell said.
Higgs said while the movement of workers outside the province has some risks of exposure, “that’s life with Covid…we have to find a way to deal with it and keep moving.”
Russell also said businesses outside Zone 5 don’t have to ask questions or turn away customers who live in or have been to the Campbellton region. She said non-essential travel is allowed across the whole province.
Besides, she says, those who have Covid-19 are self-isolating, those at risk are being tested, and testing is available for all New Brunswickers experiencing at least one symptom, so those questions and service rejection are “really not helpful.”
“I don’t feel that there’s a risk right now with respect to doing things in the community, with businesses, etcetera,” she said.
“No one should be discriminated against for living in a community where Covid-19 is active. And it may happen in your community.”
Atlantic Bubble Expected Early July
New Brunswick is among the regions in Canada expected to have a head-start on economic recovery, according to a recent RBC report.
Premier Higgs said Friday that the province saw, “the second-highest job growth in Atlantic Canada with 16,700 jobs added in May,” while consumer confidence is the highest in Atlantic Canada, and 80 percent of daycares are now open, allowing parents to return to work.
He says discussions are ongoing with other Atlantic Canadian premiers to open up the region – that’s on target for the beginning of July, as well as re-opening to the rest of Canada later that month. No date has been set for either, though.
“Let me be clear, these steps hinge on our ability to continue to manage the spread of Covid-19,” Higgs said.
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said this week that he wants the province’s borders to open to the rest of Canada by the second or third week of July and for an Atlantic bubble to happen sooner.
Russell says details such as what opening up will look like, and what measures would be put back in place an outbreak happens, are still being fine-tuned.
But Higgs assured that businesses will get ample notice so they can prepare for changes that could come with an Atlantic bubble. He says “they should be thinking about early July.” The Premiers will likely announce a specific date together “in a very short period of time,” he adds.
He said the Atlantic provinces also want to be on the same page with regards to public safety regulations, so people don’t get confused. He said all the Atlantic premiers are also “aligned” in that they want to open borders to the rest of the country sometime in mid-July.
“I understand and agree with [McNeil’s] comments in that regard,” he said. However, he noted that this reopening will move in phases, with the Atlantic bubble as an obvious first phase.
“We want our country back together again and I think everyone believes that. But we need to do it in stages that everyone accepts as the right move, to allow us to manage any potential outbreaks which are most likely to happen,” he said.
As long as there’s no vaccine, the risk of exposure to Covid-19 is there, Higgs said. But whenever that reopening happens, Higgs said all the Atlantic premiers understand it has to happen one way or another.
“We know it’s required to start up the economy, we know it’s required to get airports up and running…to get people moving around again, unless we get a significant outbreak of some sort that would delay that, I would say the path are on right now, in terms of the timing, I would hope for sometime in mid-July,” he said.
Russell said discussions are also ongoing with her counterparts across the country with regards to opening inter-provincial borders.
“When you look at the entire country, what everybody’s doing and the numbers of cases and the decrease of number of cases across the entire country, those discussions have started happening as a result of that,” she said. “As the risk changes we adjust our advice.”
In New Brunswick, Public Health advises anyone with two Covid-19 symptoms to call 811, and they may be referred for testing and told to self-isolate. Those with one symptom should self-monitor but not self-isolate.