N.B. has highest COVID-19 test-positivity rate in the country: Public Health Agency of Canada
Figures released by the Public Health Agency of Canada this week shows New Brunswick with the highest COVID-19 test-positivity rate in the country.
According to the agency, between May 1 and 7, New Brunswick had a 30.6 per cent positive PCR test rate. That's more than double the overall Canadian average, which is sitting at 13.3 per cent.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says he's thankful symptoms don't tend to be as severe as they were at the beginning of the pandemic.
"We've seen the COVID symptoms that are more in-tune with what we would see from a cold," said Higgs.
Some living in the Fredericton area say they were alarmed by the statistics.
"Why aren't we taking proper precautions? What is our government actually doing? Now the restrictions are off, great, but you have to have other things to keep the sickness down,” said Devin McEvoy, a Fredericton resident.
"We pulled the mask mandate way too early," said Gui Damiani, who lives in Fredericton. "The entire country did, so it's not really a surprise. It's just we didn't know."
"I don't think I'm excited about it - I just heard about it this morning. I'm kind of at the point now where I'm ready to move on," said Fredericton resident Derrick Dort.
New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard says a strategy to encourage people to get boosted against COVID-19 is in the works.
"I don't think we're at a point yet of making one-on-one phone calls because we need something a bit more efficient, but the fact is, every chance and every opportunity I get, I want to talk about how valuable boosters are," said Sheppard.
The latest provincial COVID-19 numbers are expected to be released Tuesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
ByteDance prefers TikTok shutdown in U.S. if legal options fail, Reuters sources say
TikTok owner ByteDance would prefer to shut down its loss-making app rather than sell it if the Chinese company exhausts all legal options to fight legislation to ban the platform from app stores in the U.S., four sources said.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Improve balance and build core strength with this exercise
When it comes to cardiovascular fitness, you may tend to focus on activities that move you forward, such as walking, running and cycling.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.