65 COVID-19 outbreaks in New Brunswick long-term care and nursing homes

There are 65 outbreaks of COVID-19 in New Brunswick’s long-term care and nursing homes as the province marks the first five days of lifted pandemic protocols.

New Brunswick’s Department of Social Development says there are 46 long-term care homes and 19 nursing homes in the province currently dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks — and a total of 479 residents who have tested positive for the virus.

President of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes, Micheal Keating, says while the illnesses have been much milder recently, cases are still spreading rapidly.

“We’ve had outbreaks, and they’re almost compared to what we would have seen with the other three or four waves,” says Keating. “This Omicron can come in on a Monday and by Wednesday, 80 to 90 per cent of the people, the staff, and the residents will have tested positive.”

According to the province, the Department of Social Development will continue to cover the costs of emergency cleaning and meals at these facilities during an outbreak but only until April 30.

“The safety of residents in our long-term care homes has always been a priority for us and remains one as we transition to this next phase of the pandemic,” a statement to CTV News reads.

“The Department of Social Development is providing support and working with facilities to regain autonomy. During the transition, facilities will receive the tools they need moving forward.”

However, the sector is not the only one struggling. As of Tuesday, more than 500 health care workers have the virus and are isolating, as the province records 1807 cases of Omicron sub-variants in New Brunswick.

“There have been discussions about cleaning up the backlog and getting all these things dealt with,” says president of the New Brunswick Medical Society Dr. Mark MacMillan.

“I know there are more diagnostic imaging — x-ray tests for examples, CT scans — being booked now, some cancelled blood-work appointments getting rescheduled.”

Dr. MacMillan says that it’s still challenging to get procedural tests done at this time.