Reopening and risk: How many have entered N.B. after province opened to Canadians with one dose?

HALIFAX -

The risk of reopening to all Canadians was the focus of a disagreement between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick this week – but how many Canadians have taken the province up on the offer?

According to New Brunswick's Department of Public Safety, there has been an increase of vehicles at the four staffed entry points, and applications to enter almost doubled in a week.

Tourism officials believe most of those people have connections to the province, like friends, family or seasonal properties.  Canadians coming for leisure are planning their trips for July or August.

“We are seeing some bookings from outside of Atlantic Canada. They’re not exactly beating down the doors just yet,” said Trevor Morgan, the general manager of the Crowne Plaza in Fredericton. “We’re cautiously optimistic that what has started off slowly will continue to increase as we move into the summer.”

The data provided by the department shows the applications for travel into the province, how many were approved and the number of vehicles that entered at the four entry points – which include Saint-Jacques, Matapedia, Campbellton and Lac Baker.

From June 6 to June 12

Applications received = 15,754

Applications approved = 13,481

Vehicle counts = 12,763

From June 13 to June 18

Applications received = 27,539 

Applications approved = 20,635

Vehicle counts = 18,403

From June 19 to June 22

Applications received = 22,599

Applications approved = 22,177

Vehicle counts = 17,858

N.B. reopened to Canadians with one dose on June 17

Passenger counts are also being done at the Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport.

The director of parks and attractions at New Brunswick’s Department of Tourism says bookings for campgrounds tripled since the announcement that the province would open to the rest of Canada.

“We have actually seen a really big boost in our reservation site, we’re averaging 1,000 bookings a week and we’ve had 3,000 since the announcement,” said Melanie Deveau.

She says holiday or long weekends are booking up quickly. The first weekend in July has a 79 per cent occupancy rate across all provincial parks.

“At Mactaquac, specifically, we’re at 96 per cent booked, New River is about 93 per cent and Mount Carleton is 88,” she said.

Dr. Jennifer Russell said on Tuesday she was comfortable with the province’s decision to open to Canadians with one dose, but says the goal will still be to maintain New Brunswick residents’ safety.

“We just need to do it with our vaccines as opposed to all of the restrictions that we’ve had in place for so long,” said Russell.