The province will provide an update on COVID-19 this afternoon.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell and Premier Blaine Higgs will participate in the news conference, scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m.
It will be live-streamed here on CBC New Brunswick’s website.
An update on the COVID alert levels in the Edmundston region, Zone 4, is anticipated.
Last Thursday, Russell had recommended to cabinet the lockdown and orange level in two sections be reassessed on Monday.
Edmundston and the Upper Madawaska area have been under lockdown, the province’s tightest health restrictions, since April 11.
Grand Falls, Saint-Léonard, Drummond, New Denmark and Four Falls are at the orange level, while the Saint-Quentin and Kedgwick regions remain at the yellow level, along with the rest of the province.
Mandatory testing at school
Public Health has confirmed a positive case of COVID-19 at George Street Middle School, forcing the Fredericton school to close.
In an email to parents, New Brunswick Public Health said all staff, students and their households have been asked to isolate until midnight Thursday to allow for contact tracing and testing.
The school is working with Public Health officials to identify any students and school personnel who may have been in contact with the case.
“Testing will be mandatory for all students and school personnel in order for the isolation to be lifted. For those who choose to not be tested, the isolation period will be extended,” said Kimberly Barker, regional medical officer of health.
Public Health confirmed a positive Covid-19 case at George Street Middle School. All staff, students and their households are asked to isolate until midnight, Thursday, April 29 to allow for contact tracing and testing. The school is closed. More here: <a href=”https://t.co/HpfxiEcxxR”>https://t.co/HpfxiEcxxR</a>
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Priestman Street School in Fredericton is also closed Tuesday for operational reasons.
“There has not been another case shared with us but the ripple effect of those in self-isolation has caused many staff absences for us,” said David McTimoney, superintendent of the Anglophone West School District, in an email.
“With Priestman, we have eight vacant teacher positions that we haven’t been able to backfill. So, we say it is closed for operational reasons.”
Eighteen Fredericton area school buses will not be operating Tuesday because of the two school closures.
122 active cases
Public Health has declared an outbreak at the University of New Brunswick’s Fredericton campus after six cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, as of Monday, at Magee House, an apartment-style residence with 101 units for mature students, some of whom have children.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, said more testing is key to figuring out the extent of any outbreak.
She is urging people to get tested if they have any symptoms that could be caused by other illnesses or allergies.
“With the variants of concern [and] variants of interest, the transition can happen really quickly. And the impacts to our health–care system can happen very quickly,” she said.
There are 122 active cases is in New Brunswick. Seven people are in hospital, including three in intensive care.
New Brunswick has had 1,858 confirmed cases since the pandemic began. There have been 1,700 recoveries and 35 COVID-related deaths.
A total of 284,253 tests have been conducted, including 919 tests on Sunday.
Pop-up testing in Nackawic
In response to a recent cluster of COVID-19 positive cases in Zone 3, the Fredericton and Upper River Valley area, the Horizon Health Network is establishing a temporary testing site in Nackawic this week.
“This is part of Public Health efforts to ensure as many individuals in the area as possible are tested for COVID-19,” spokesperson Kris McDavid said in a statement.
The outdoor, drive-thru clinic will be located in the parking lot of Nackawic Shopping Mall, 135 Otis Dr., and will operate by appointment only Wednesday through Friday, from noon until 5 p.m.
Those with appointments should bring their Medicare card, wear a mask, enter from Landegger Drive and remain in their vehicles.
People can book an appointment online or call Tele-Care 811. They should select “Hartland” as their preferred site until “Nackawic” becomes an option, Horizon said. When they are contacted for an appointment, they should indicate they wish to be tested at the temporary site in Nackawic.
Hotel isolation a cause for concern
The number of COVID-19 cases would decrease in Atlantic Canada if people stopped flying, says an Ontario epidemiologist.
Colin Furness said he would support a decision to halt non-essential domestic flights.
“When we talk about truly non-essential travel, you’re adding a lot of risk,” he said. “You’re not actually adding any social benefit.”
The federal government imposed a ban on passenger flights from India and Pakistan to Canada for 30 days starting April 22. Airlines drastically cut domestic flights to New Brunswick last year.
Furness said he’s also concerned about self-isolation hotels in the province because exposure to COVID-19 can still happen in the hallways of those hotels.
“You have air flowing from the rooms into the hallway,” he said. “Sort of like in an apartment building when you can smell other people’s cooking.”
Furness also said if there were less travel, fewer people would be forced to quarantine in hotels, which in turn would decrease the risk of contracting the virus.
“It circles back to not ‘How do we manage lots of people travelling?’ but ‘How can we get fewer people travelling?,'” he said. “That’s ultimately what would make things safer.”
Furness said he’s also concerned about masks getting smaller.
“I think it’s because they’re better looking when they’re shaped,” he said.
But people need to wear masks big enough to ensure there isn’t “gaping around the sides,” he said.
Previous possible public exposures
Public Health has identified the sites, dates and times of possible public exposure in four regions. People who were at these sites are eligible to be tested for COVID-19, even if they are not experiencing symptoms.
Fredericton region:
Moncton region:
Saint John region:
Edmundston region:
Public Health also identified travellers who may have been infected while on the following flights:
What to do if you have a symptom
People concerned they might have COVID-19 symptoms can take a self-assessment test online.
Public Health says symptoms shown by people with COVID-19 have included:
Fever above 38 C.
New cough or worsening chronic cough.
New onset of fatigue, muscle pain, diarrhea, loss of sense of taste or smell.
Difficulty breathing.
In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.
People with one of those symptoms should:
Stay at home.
Call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor.
Describe symptoms and travel history.
