HALIFAX –
New Brunswick will enter tier one of its COVID-19 winter action plan starting at 11:59 pm on Saturday.
The province’s three-tiered plan is to help slow the spread of COVID-19 during the winter months. It will be reevaluated in the spring.
New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said Friday that the action plan will help reduce the spread of the virus when combined with vaccines and public health guidelines.
Shephard said the entire province will start at level one, the lowest of the three levels, which is similar to the current measures.
Once level one takes effect, the province’s health minister said informal gatherings in homes will have a capacity of 20 people and informal outdoor gatherings will be limited to 50 people. She is encouraging everyone to keep the contacts as low as possible.
At level one, Shephard said masks are required in outdoor public spaces where physical distancing is not possible.
The physical distance between customers and users must also be followed in shopping centers, supermarkets, beauty salons and other businesses.
There are two more tiers to the winter action plan: they include lower capacity tiers, travel restrictions, and collection limits.
Shephard said the province’s education system will continue to follow its existing plan.
Details on New Brunswick’s COVID-19 plan can be found at the province website.
BREAKDOWN OF THE CASE
New Brunswick reported 77 new COVID-19 cases Saturday, along with 66 recoveries, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 722.
According to the province, 12 of the new cases are in the Moncton region (Zone 1), 22 new cases are in the Saint John region (Zone 2), 22 of them are in the Fredericton region (Zone 3), a new case in the Edmundston region (zone 4), there are five new cases in the Campbellton region (zone 5), one new case in the Bathurst region (zone 6) and 14 new cases in the Miramichi region ( zone 7).
There are 51 people hospitalized with the virus, including 16 in intensive care and 10 on a ventilator. The province says that of those hospitalized, 27 people are over 60 years old.
IMMUNIZATION UPDATE
The province says 81.9 percent of eligible New Brunswick residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 87.1 percent have received their first dose of a vaccine.
The province said booster doses are available for those over 60, while the eligible booster will be expanded to those over 50 next week and 40 in the coming weeks.
The New Brunswick Medical Director of Health said 80 New Brunswickers, who recently traveled to where the new variant is present, are being monitored for Omicron.
Dr. Russell said that unvaccinated people are at a much higher risk of experiencing the worst effects of COVID-19.
POSSIBLE PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS
You can find a full list of possible COVID-19 exposure notifications in New Brunswick at province website.
Anyone with symptoms of the virus, as well as anyone who has been to the site of a possible public exposure, should request a test online or call Tele-Care at 811 to schedule an appointment.
Reference-atlantic.ctvnews.ca