N.B. says all nursing home residents have received COVID-19 booster shot; reports 52 new cases Tuesday
Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting 52 new COVID-19 cases and 33 recoveries on Tuesday, as the total number of active cases in the province rises to 523.
Tuesday's new cases were identified in the following zones:
- 27 new cases in the Moncton region (Zone 1)
- Nine new cases in the Saint John region (Zone 2)
- Eight new cases in the Fredericton region (Zone 3)
- Eight new cases in the Miramichi region (Zone 7)
“The continued increase in cases in Zone 1, the Moncton region, is concerning,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health in a release. “The circuit breaker measures work, but only if everyone follows them. I encourage people in this region and across the province to do everything within their power to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
According to health officials, 34 of Tuesday's 52 new cases, or 65 per cent, are unvaccinated. One case, or two per cent, are partially vaccinated, and 17 cases, or 33 per cent, are fully vaccinated.
The province says there are currently 16 people in hospital in New Brunswick due to COVID-19, with 10 in an intensive care unit. Of those currently in hospital, 13 are unvaccinated, and three are fully vaccinated.
Of the 10 people in the ICU, nine are unvaccinated, and one is fully vaccinated.
BOOSTER DOSES FOR NURSING HOME RESIDENTS COMPLETED
New Brunswick health officials say they have completed the rollout of booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine for residents at nursing homes in the province.
"The process continues at adult residential facilities, with 82 per cent complete. The rest of those facilities will be done by the end of the month," says the province in a release.
“We know residents of these facilities are more vulnerable to COVID-19 if they catch it,” added Russell in a release. “By providing boosters to these residents, we can improve their protection and reduce the risk of them being hospitalized or becoming severely ill.”
Since COVID-19 booster vaccines were made available earlier this fall for vulnerable populations and those who originally had AstraZeneca, N.B. Health Minister Dorothy Shephard says uptake has been good.
"I can't give you the AstraZeneca numbers I don't have those with me today but I do know that since Sept 24, we've given 7,884 boosters,” said Shephard. “That's going to include long term care, first nations, immunocompromised and medical professional staff who received their vaccinations early,".
Some pharmacists say they have received calls from people who want to have matching vaccine doses.
"There's a lot of people looking for booster shots, lots of phone calls at the pharmacy,” said Ryan Quinn, Pharmacist and Owner Kings Place Lawtons.
"There's a number of people that want to have two consecutive vaccines that are the same for travel purposes, the U.S. has changed, some countries will allow but some still won't approve two mixed doses, so there's a lot of people looking for that reason, and there's a lot of people who are just concerned and want to make sure that they're protected as possible against COVID-19.”
CASE DATA
New Brunswick has had 6,865 cumulative cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
In total, 6,220 people have recovered and 121 people have died in the province from COVID-19.
Public health says a total of 532,024 COVID-19 tests have been processed since the start of the pandemic.
The number of cases are broken down by New Brunswick’s seven health zones:
- Zone 1 – Moncton region: 2,054 confirmed cases (218 active cases)
- Zone 2 – Saint John region: 781 confirmed cases (99 active cases)
- Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 1,340 confirmed cases (63 active cases)
- Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 1,450 confirmed cases (21 active cases)
- Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 683 confirmed cases (20 active cases)
- Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 291 confirmed cases (2 active cases)
- Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 266 confirmed cases (100 active cases)
With more than half of Tuesday's new cases reported in the Moncton region, opposition politicians are concerned about the continued spread despite the circuit breaker measures.
"In my area in Zone One, there's certainly something that needs to be looked into, where you have constantly between 25 and what 35 cases daily, I've actually asked public health to dive deeper into the situation over there," Roger Melanson, leader of N.B. Liberal party.
Circuit breakers remain in parts of the Moncton and Saint John regions.
"It's very worrisome, what is happening there compared to where the circuit breaker worked in the Upper River Valley and Edmundston and Restigouche areas," added David Coon, leader of N.B. Green Party. "Something's fundamentally different going on in Moncton that needs to be addressed."
VACCINE UPDATE
As of Tuesday, 86.1 per cent of New Brunswickers age 12 and older are fully vaccinated and 92.9 per cent have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
In total, 1,246,187 vaccine doses have been administered in New Brunswick.
All provincial government employees, staff in long-term care facilities and staff and volunteers in schools and licensed early learning and child-care facilities must be fully vaccinated by Friday, Nov. 19.
All eligible New Brunswickers can book their second dose appointments now for a date that is at least 28 days after their first dose.
CASES IN SCHOOLS AND CHILD-CARE FACILITIES
New Brunswick Health officials say 68 early learning and child-care facilities have had confirmed cases of COVID-19 since Sept. 7.
You can find information on cases in schools on the Healthy and Safe Schools website and the COVID-19 dashboard.
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Foreign meddling 'did not affect' overall federal election results: inquiry report
Foreign interference by China did not affect the overall results of the 2019 and 2021 general elections won by Justin Trudeau's Liberals, a federal commission of inquiry has found.
BREAKING Police arrest 3 in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
WATCH LIVE Funeral today for broadcasting legend and voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada' Bob Cole
A funeral is being held today for hockey broadcasting legend Bob Cole in his hometown of St. John's, N.L.
Magnitude 4.8 earthquake recorded west of Vancouver Island
A 4.8-magnitude earthquake was reported west of Vancouver Island Thursday evening.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
How falling for a stranger she met on a beach led this woman to ditch the U.S. for the French Riviera
Niki Benjamin, from the U.S., had travelled to a paradise island to do some soul searching, and her life ended up going in a very different direction when her dog ran up to a stranger.
Biscuits with possible plastic pieces, metal found in ground pork: Here are the recalls for this week
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Supreme Court orders new trial for B.C. francophone who was not given French option
The Supreme Court is ordering a new trial for a francophone man in British Columbia who says he was not informed of his right to have a trial in the official language of his choice.