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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.