New Brunswick to lift remaining COVID-19 restrictions, but experts warn of relapse
As New Brunswick prepares to drop virtually all of its COVID-19 restrictions Friday night, some infectious disease experts are warning the province should prepare for a surge in cases this fall because of the highly contagious Delta variant.
Allison McGeer, an infectious disease physician with the Sinai Health System in Toronto, says she is sympathetic to Premier Blaine Higgs' decision to loosen health protection measures -- including mask wearing -- given the fact that case numbers in New Brunswick remain low.
McGeer, however, says it is clear the Delta variant is on the move in British Columbia, Alberta and much of the United States, where the U.S. Centers for Disease Control now says fully vaccinated Americans should go back to wearing masks in indoor public spaces in regions where the virus is spreading rapidly.
McGeer says she has no problem with easing restrictions in Atlantic Canada -- where case numbers remain low -- so long as residents understand that mask wearing and other protection measures will likely be reimposed in the fall.
Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist, says he supports New Brunswick's plan to drop most health protection measures, but he stressed the plan will fail unless the province maintains mandatory mask wearing in indoor public spaces.
Furness, a professor at the University of Toronto, says once New Brunswickers start sharing indoor air without wearing masks, a fourth wave of infections is sure to be driven by the Delta variant.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 29, 2021.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.