HALIFAX -- Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting five new COVID-19 cases Friday, while the number of active cases in the province have dropped to 156.

According to a media release Friday, the cases were identified in the Saint John, Edmundston, and Bathurst regions.

Friday’s new cases involve:

  • One person in the Saint John region (Zone 2) in their 50s.
  • Three cases in the Edmundston region (Zone 4) including one person under 19, one in their 40s, and one in their 80s.
  • One in the Bathurst region (Zone 6) in their 20s.

Since Thursday, ten people are considered recovered from COVID-19, as the active number of cases in the province drop to 156.

New Brunswick has had 1,382 cumulative confirmed cases since the pandemic began. In total, 1,203 people have recovered, and 22 people have died in the province from COVID-19.

Six people are in hospital with COVID-19, with two in the intensive care unit.

Public health says 1,284 tests were done on Thursday in New Brunswick, and 214,163 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: 330 confirmed cases (24 active cases)
  • Zone 2 – Saint John region: 222 confirmed cases (5 active cases)
  • Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 238 confirmed cases (7 active cases)
  • Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 375 confirmed cases (117 active cases)
  • Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 182 confirmed cases (no active cases)
  • Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 27 confirmed cases (3 active cases)
  • Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 8 confirmed cases (no active cases)

NO CHANGES TO ZONES

According to Friday’s media release, the Edmundston region (Zone 4) will stay at the red level of recovery, with all other zones still in Orange.

On Thursday, the province’s health minister said despite a drop in new cases in recent days, public health says it will be a few weeks before the province considers further easing restrictions.

"Health zones will need to remain in the orange level for at least two or three weeks, giving the province time to stabilize the number of COVID-19 cases before we can consider the possibility of moving to yellow," said New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Sheppard during Thursday’s news update. "The situation is still precarious and one wrong move could lead to an increase in cases."

Shephard said she is hopeful all areas of the province will eventually be able to return to the Yellow level of recovery, and the Atlantic Bubble will be able to reopen.