N.B. officials say under 10,000 first doses still needed to loosen restrictions: report one new case Friday

HALIFAX -

New Brunswick is reporting one new COVID-19 case and five recoveries on Friday, as the active number of cases in the province drops to 97 - the lowest number of active cases since March 25.

The new case was identified in the Fredericton region (Zone 3), involving an individual in their 50s, and is a close contact of a previously reported case.

VACCINATION RATE CONTINUES TO RISE

New Brunswick public health says just under 10,000 New Brunswickers still need to receive their first vaccine dose in order for the province to begin loosening restrictions.

Public Health says as of Thursday, 73.6 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The province says another 9,664 people need to receive their first vaccine dose to reach the 75 per cent mark, which is necessary to begin loosening pandemic restrictions under the province’s Path to Green.

New Brunswick's COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the amount of vaccines that have been administered to date.

As of Friday, 574,759 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in New Brunswick.

Anyone eligible for a vaccine who has not already received their first dose can book an appointment online through a Vitalité or Horizon Health Network clinic or by contacting a participating pharmacy.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.S. TO BE INCLUDED IN FIRST PHASE OF REOPENING

Nova Scotia’s Cumberland County will be included in the first phase of New Brunswick’s Path to Green reopening plan.

In a release Friday, the province says following conversations with Nova Scotia officials, people who travel to New Brunswick from neighbouring Cumberland County will not be required to self-isolate or be tested.

“Cabinet and the all-party cabinet committee on COVID-19 have made the decision to include Cumberland County in this first phase due to its low case counts,” said Health Minister Dorothy Shephard in a release.

The rest of Nova Scotia will not be included until the province reaches the second phase.

Residents of Cumberland County now join residents of P.E.I., Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Avignon and Témiscouata regions in Quebec as travellers who will not be required to self-isolate or be tested upon arriving in New Brunswick. Travellers will still be required to register with the province.

The first phase of Path to Green will come into effect once 75 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received their first dose of a vaccine. 

N.B. COVID-19 CASE DATA

New Brunswick has had 2,284 cumulative cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

In total, 2,142 people have recovered, and 44 people have died in the province from COVID-19.

Four people are currently in hospital with COVID-19 in total, Of those, three patients are hospitalized in New Brunswick, including one in an intensive care unit. One person is hospitalized outside of the province, in an intensive care unit.

Public health says 1,336 tests were completed on Thursday in New Brunswick, and 348,837 total since the start of the pandemic.

The number of cases are broken down by New Brunswick’s seven health zones:

• Zone 1 – Moncton region: 474 confirmed cases (27 active cases)
• Zone 2 – Saint John region: 295 confirmed cases (one active case)
• Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 420 confirmed cases (41 active cases)
• Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 752 confirmed cases (one active case)
• Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 185 confirmed cases (no active cases)
• Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 119 confirmed cases (25 active cases)
• Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 39 confirmed cases (two active cases)

POTENTIAL PUBLIC EXPOSURES

New Brunswick Public Health released a list of potential public exposures on Friday evening.

• June 8 between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
• Silver Fox restaurant – Irving Big Stop (2986 Fredericton Rd., Salisbury).
   
• June 8 between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m.
• Jean Coutu (1789 Mountain Rd., Moncton)
   
• June 7 between 6 p.m. and 11 a.m. June 8.
• Hotel Moncton (2779 Mountain Rd., Moncton)

YELLOW LEVEL REMINDER

All of New Brunswick remains under the Yellow level of recovery under the province’s order.