N.B. reports 133 new COVID-19 cases Saturday; number of hospitalizations decrease

Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting 133 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, along with 154 recoveries, with the total number of active infections dropping to 1,232.

Public health also announced two deaths related to COVID-19, involving a person in their 60s and a person in their 80s in the Miramichi region (Zone 7).

Health officials say since Friday, no new Omicron variant cases have been discovered. To date, New Brunswick has confirmed 30 cases of the variant.

A total of 40 people are in hospital, 13 of whom are being treated in intensive care – seven are on a ventilator. The province says no one under the age of 19 is currently hospitalized, and 25 of the 40 are over the age of 60.

The breakdown of new cases are:

• Moncton region (Zone 1): 18 new cases
• Saint John region (Zone 2): 60 new cases
• Fredericton region (Zone 3): 24 new cases
• Edmundston region (Zone 4): six new cases
• Campbellton region (Zone 5): three new cases
• Bathurst region (Zone 6): seven new cases
• Miramichi region (Zone 7): 15 new cases

Age and origin of new cases, as well as additional information, is available on the COVID-19 dashboard.

VACCINE UPDATE

Health officials say 82.6 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 89.3 per cent have received their first dose and 12.8 per cent have received a booster dose.

Walk-in clinics have been added in areas with high demand for those eligible for a booster dose. A full list of walk-in clinics is available online.

A detailed list of those eligible for a booster dose is also available online.

INTERIM MEASURES TAKE EFFECT

Interim measures are now in effect across New Brunswick to try and slow the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant.

Those measures include:

• Limiting household contacts to a maximum of a steady 20.
• Dining in restaurants is still permitted but two metres must be maintained between tables and proof of vaccination is still required.
• Entertainment centres, including movie theatres, professional sporting venues, casinos, etc., will be operating at 50 per cent capacity with distancing of two metres.

More information on the new measures is available online.

LEVEL I PHASE OF COVID-19 WINTER PLAN

All of New Brunswick is currently in the Level 1 phase of the Winter Plan to manage COVID-19.

More information on the plan is available online.

POTENTIAL PUBLIC EXPOSURES

A full list of potential COVID-19 exposure notifications in New Brunswick can be found on the province's website.

Anyone with symptoms of the virus, as well as anyone who has been at the site of a possible public exposure, is urged to request a test online or call Tele-Care at 811 to get an appointment.