COVID-19 cases climb across Maritimes, but health officials not ready to declare new wave

Despite reported COVID-19 cases riding a steady climb across the Maritimes, there’s reluctance from health officials in the region to declare a new pandemic wave.

Prince Edward Island came the closest on Friday, with a brief statement from the island’s Public Health office saying the increase (of 1,070 new cases during the past week) "likely indicates the beginning of a new wave of infections."

Public Health in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have noted the case jumps, stopping short of defining any summer pandemic trends.

Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, said the initial expectation was for a new pandemic wave this fall.

"With COVID there are no guarantees," said Russell, in an interview Wednesday. "So we use the best information we have in front of us at that time and we keep recalculating and focus on that."

New Brunswick emergency department closures will occur in Sussex, Oromocto, and Sackville this weekend. The Horizon Health Network is blaming the weekend closures on staff absences due to COVID-19.

Top health officials declared the arrival of a seventh pandemic wave this week in Ontario, and Quebec.

"We are not here at all to reimpose health measures," said Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé at a news conference on Thursday. "We've said all along that we need to live with this COVID."

This week, Nova Scotia removed all remaining COVID-19 restrictions for the general public along with changing its weekly COVID-19 update to a monthly report.

"These largely end up being political decisions," said Toronto-based infectious disease expert Dr. Isaac Bogach in an interview with CTV News Channel on Friday. "I think what we can do in this context is have appropriate messaging, and that messaging should really focus on a few key things."

"Get up to date on your vaccines. We know these vaccines really do a lot of good to prevent more severe illness and prevent people from coming into hospital."

Nova Scotia expanded eligibility this week for more immunocompromised people to get a second COVID-19 booster vaccine.

In New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, anyone 50 and older in the general population can make a fourth shot appointment.

On Prince Edward Island, second booster eligibility expanded this week to anyone 12 and older.

The Omicron subvariants of BA.4 and BA.5 have been adding to the summer surge of COVID-19 cases in Europe, and now North America.

"There’s a lot of COVID out there right now," said Bogach. "And you can reduce your risk of getting this infection by putting on a mask, especially a high quality mask, when you go into an indoor setting where we know that’s where most COVID is transmitted."

OUTSIDE RISK LOW, BUT NOT ZERO

Bogach said another key message to curb infections was encouraging people to host and attend summer gatherings outside as much as possible.

"So if you’re having family over, why not have a backyard BBQ rather than cram everyone into an indoor setting? These are just simple steps that people can take to protect themselves and people around them."

Several recent outdoor events, including activities connected to the 2022 Memorial Cup in Saint John, and the ongoing Cavendish Beach Music Festival on P.E.I., have brought together thousands of people to outside spaces.

"It’s a little concerning to me about the spacing and the lack of masking in a mass gathering," said Dr. Trevor Jain, a Charlottetown-based emergency room physician, in an interview on Friday.

Jain said wearing a mask was a good idea outside when physical distancing isn’t possible.

"We want people to go out and have fun and enjoy their summer,” said Jain. "But we just want them to do it in a smart and safe fashion."