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New Brunswick reports 5 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday; presumptive variant case identified in Edmundston

Allan April CTVNewsAtlantic.ca writer

Published Tuesday, March 16, 2021 12:49PM ADT

A laboratory technical assistant at LifeLabs, handles a specimen to be tested for COVID-19 after scanning its barcode upon receipt at the company's lab, in Surrey, B.C., on March 26, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

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HALIFAX -- New Brunswick Public Health is reporting five new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Two previously reported cases are now considered recovered, as the number of active cases in the province increases to 41.

One of Tuesday's new cases was identified in the Moncton region (Zone 1), involving an individual in their 60s.

Two cases were identified in the Fredericton region (Zone 3), involving an individual in their 20s and an individual in their 60s.

Two cases were identified in the Edmundston region (Zone 4), involving an individual in their 50s and an individual in their 60s.

Public health says all five new cases are linked to previous cases and are self-isolating.

New Brunswick has had 1,476 cumulative confirmed cases since the pandemic began. In total, 1,404 people have recovered, and 30 people have died in the province from COVID-19.

One person is in hospital with COVID-19. No one is currently in intensive care.

Public health says 528 tests were completed on Monday in New Brunswick, and 241,365 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: 345 confirmed cases (10 active cases)
Zone 2 – Saint John region: 224 confirmed cases (2 active cases)
Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 244 confirmed cases (3 active cases)
Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 428 confirmed cases (10 active cases)
Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 182 confirmed cases (no active cases)
Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 28 confirmed cases (no active cases)
Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 25 confirmed cases (16 active cases)

PRESUMPTIVE VARIANT CASE IN EDMUNDSTON REGION

Public health announced Tuesday that a confirmed case of COVID-19 in Zone 4 (Edmundston region) has been identified as a presumptive case of a variant of concern by Moncton’s Dr. Georges-L-Dumont University Hospital Centre’s microbiology laboratory. A sample will be sent to Winnipeg’s National Microbiology Laboratory for confirmation.

CONFIRMED CASE AT EDMUNDSTON SCHOOL

Public health also announced Tuesday that a positive case of COVID-19 has been confirmed at École Notre-Dame in Edmundston.

Officials say students and staff stayed home Tuesday to allow for contact tracing and school sanitization protocols to be carried out, and school staff will contact families directly should there be any further impact on learning.

If someone is determined to be a close contact with a case, they will be notified by Public Health for contact tracing. If they do not hear directly from Public Health, they have not been identified as a close contact.

POTENTIAL EXPOSURE IN EDMUNDSTON

Public Health has identified a potential public exposure to the virus at the following locations in Edmundston:

Pizza Delight on Mar. 12 between noon and 1:30 p.m. (185 Hébert Blvd.).
Tim Hortons on Mar. 12 between 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. (684 Victoria St.).

Anyone who visited or worked at those locations on the specified date and time and has symptoms of COVID-19 should immediately self-isolate, and take an online self-assessment COVID-19 test, or call 811, to arrange for testing.

Individuals who do not have COVID-19 symptoms should monitor for symptoms and get tested if they develop.

UPDATE ON VACCINES

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

As of March 15, 51,354 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far, with 12,195 people in New Brunswick having received a second dose.

The province has received a total of 75,995 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and are holding 24,641 in reserve for second doses and planned clinics.

ALL ZONES YELLOW

All New Brunswick zones are in the Yellow level under the province's pandemic response plan.

Prior to the changes, which took effect Monday, the province had been in the more restrictive "orange" level following a spike in case numbers dating back to January.