N.B. urges youth ages 12-19 to get vaccinated, reports 11 new COVID-19 cases Thursday

HALIFAX -

New Brunswick is reporting 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, along with 14 recoveries, as the total number of active infections in the province drops to 68.

Nine of the new cases were identified in the Moncton region (Zone 1) involving:

• one person 19 or under
• two people in their 20s
• two people in their 30s
• two people in their 40s
• two people in their 50s

Public health says three cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases and six cases are under investigation.

As of Thursday, 54 of the province's 68 cases were identified in the Moncton region.

Two cases were identified in the Saint John region (Zone 2). Both involve people in their 40s and are travel related.

There are currently no hospitalizations in New Brunswick due to COVID-19.

VACCINE UPDATE

New Brunswick health officials are urging children 12 to 19 to get vaccinated, as back-to-school approaches. 

According to the province, more than 11,000 New Brunswickers between the ages of 12 and 19 are not yet fully vaccinated and another roughly 19,000 have yet to receive their first doses.

“With students going back to school on Sept. 7, and a two-week timespan needed after your second dose to have full immunity, parents and guardians need to book an appointment immediately to get their children fully vaccinated, or receive at least the first dose, if they have not yet done so,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health in a news release.

“We all need two doses of the vaccine to be fully protected.”

Here is the current vaccination breakdown of New Brunswickers aged 12-19:

•  Fully vaccinated: 54.04 per cent (34,968 people)
•  Received only first dose: 16.6 per cent (11,511 people)
•  Not vaccinated: 29.36 per cent (18,998 people)

“We are finalizing guidelines for the 2021-22 school year and will share them with students, families, teachers and staff by the end of next week,” said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy.

“We are looking at the evolving science, and our success during the last school year, so we can keep our schools as healthy and safe as possible. Our goal is as close to a normal year as possible in the face of challenges from the Delta variant, while we protect those who cannot be vaccinated and those under 12 still waiting for vaccines to be approved. A safe return to school means a vaccinated province. Please help our students; please get your COVID vaccine today."

As of Thursday, 70.5 per cent of New Brunswickers age 12 and older are fully vaccinated and 83.1 per cent have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In total, 1,064,911 vaccine doses have been administered in New Brunswick.

If you have not yet had your first or second dose, you are encouraged to go to a mobile or walk-in clinic or to book an appointment through a participating pharmacy or at a Vitalité or Horizon Health Network clinic.

All eligible New Brunswickers can book their second dose appointments now for a date that is at least 28 days after their first dose.

If you have an appointment for a vaccine but were able to get vaccinated sooner elsewhere, please be sure to contact your pharmacy or regional health authority clinic to cancel the appointment you no longer need. This will help ensure that someone else in your community can obtain their vaccination sooner.

COVID-19 CASE DATA

New Brunswick has had 2,471 cumulative cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

In total, 2,356 people have recovered, and 46 people have died in the province from COVID-19.

Public health says 933 tests were completed in New Brunswick on Tuesday. A total of 390,197 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: 582 confirmed cases (54 active cases)
• Zone 2 – Saint John region: 309 confirmed cases (7 active cases)
• Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 455 confirmed cases (no active cases)
• Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 755 confirmed cases (no active cases)
• Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 186 confirmed cases (no active cases)
• Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 140 confirmed cases (4 active cases)
• Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 44 confirmed cases (3 active cases)

POTENTIAL PUBLIC EXPOSURES

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.