'This feels like I’m living in a nightmare’: N.B. man urges vaccinations after two relatives hospitalized
A New Brunswick man is speaking out about the importance of vaccines after several of his unvaccinated family members contracted COVID-19, with two of them requiring hospitalization for severe symptoms.
Joe Gee lives in Carlingford, N.B., near Perth-Andover. He says the virus is ‘spreading rampantly’ in his community, leaving himself and his fiancée, who have both been vaccinated, to care for loved ones who have become sick.
"This feels like I'm living in a nightmare and sometimes I like to pretend that it isn’t real, but it's real,” says Gee.
“I have to keep going. I have to do what I need to do to ensure that this spread doesn’t continue and that people start listening.”
On Tuesday morning, Gee’s uncle was rushed to the Upper River Valley Hospital in Waterville, N.B. by ambulance – it’s the second relative of his to recently be admitted to that facility with COVID-19.
"I'm just glad that I got vaccinated and my fiancé is vaccinated and we're both alive and healthy to be able to care for everybody that's sick," says Gee.
"The contact tracing all goes back to the church, and that's where this all started."
Carlingford is in the Fredericton region, also known as Zone 3, which as of Tuesday had more than 200 confirmed cases. As of that date, 79.5 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers were fully vaccinated, with 88.4 per cent having received their first dose.
“A lot of people think I'm angry, but really I'm scared more than anything else, this is terrifying,” says Gee.
“If you’re able to get vaccinated, and your doctor says get vaccinated, then you should do what’s best for yourself and your community, go get vaccinated.”
The province recorded 68 new cases of COVID-19 on that Tuesday, bringing the total number of active cases in the province to 632.
There were also two deaths reported, both people in their 80s, one in the Fredericton region and one in the Edmundston region.
With 40 hospitalizations, and 16 in the intensive care unit, emergency room doctor Serge Melanson, who works at the Moncton Hospital, says the situation is ‘grave.’
“When the capacity of what the hospital can take in starts increasing even further, then they have to start looking at tougher decisions around cutting back on planned or elective surgeries as an example, or procedures,” says Dr. Melanson.
“This is not only something impacting the ER where I work, but every aspect of the hospital and all the services they offer that are impacted one way of another.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Snowbirds in Vancouver for puck-drop flyby as Canucks face Oilers
The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing a flyover across downtown Vancouver at the start of tonight's Stanley Cup playoff game between the Canucks and the Edmonton Oilers.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.