HALIFAX -- New Brunswick Public Health is reporting six new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.

Five of Friday's new cases were identified in the Edmundston area (Zone 4), involving two people ages 19 and under, an individual in their 20s, and two people in their 40s.

One new case was identified in the Miramichi area (Zone 7) involving an individual in their 40s.

Since Thursday, 12 previously reported cases are now considered recovered, as the number of active cases in the province drops to 105.

New Brunswick has had 1,417 cumulative confirmed cases since the pandemic began. In total, 1,287 people have recovered, and 24 people have died in the province from COVID-19.

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

Public health says 895 tests were completed on Thursday in New Brunswick, and 221,807 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: 332 confirmed cases (7 active cases)
  • Zone 2 – Saint John region: 222 confirmed cases (4 active cases)
  • Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 238 confirmed cases (2 active cases)
  • Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 407 confirmed cases (89 active cases)
  • Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 182 confirmed cases (no active cases)
  • Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 27 confirmed cases (2 active cases)
  • Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 9 confirmed cases (1 active case)

UPDATE ON VACCINES

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

As of Tuesday, 21,182 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered so far, with 7,505 people in New Brunswick having received a second dose.

The province has received a total of 26,825 doses of COVID-19 vaccine, and are holding 5,643 in reserve for second doses and planned clinics.

Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said despite the recent reduction in shipments of COVID-19 vaccines, vaccination clinics are forging ahead. She said about 12,000 out of 27,000 health-care workers in the province have received a first dose, and about 3,000 out of 11,000 long-term care residents have received a first injection.

"This week, more than 1,950 health-care workers are scheduled to receive their second dose of the vaccine at clinics," Shephard said. "As well, more than 1,480 people are scheduled to receive their second dose of the vaccine at clinics in long-term care homes."

The minister said the recent reduction in vaccine shipments prompted officials to readjust the planned rollout of the vaccine, adding that details of the changes will be announced later this week.

ALL ZONES BACK TO ORANGE PHASE

On Thursday, New Brunswick’s Health Minister Dorothy Shephard announced the Edmundston region (Zone 4) will be returning to the orange phase effective midnight on Thursday. With the change, it means all zones in New Brunswick will be back at the orange level.

"I know the last several weeks have been very difficult for those living in Zone 4," said Shephard. "I want to thank everyone in this region for following the rules and doing their part to move from lockdown, to the red level, and now to the orange level so quickly."

"I am pleased that tomorrow the entire province will be Orange, which means many businesses can open with their operational plans in place, and we can all spend time with our steady 10 contacts," said Shephard.

VEHICLE TRAFFIC INFORMATION

New Brunswick's online dashboard includes information about vehicle traffic attempting to enter the province.

On Thursday, 1,535 personal and 1,476 commercial vehicles attempted to cross the border into the province.

Of the vehicles attempting to cross the border, 23 were refused entry, for a refusal rate of 0.8 per cent.  

Correction:

A previous version of this article said New Brunswick currently has five people in hospital due to the novel coronavirus. The province has since updated this information, which is now reflected in the above article.