New Brunswick added 10 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday.
Two cases were discovered in the Moncton, Saint John, and Fredericton health zones, while three cases were found in the Edmundston region, and one was in the Bathurst area.
10 of the cases were contacts of previously-confirmed cases or travel-related.
One case in the Moncton area is under investigation.
14 recoveries were reported since Wednesday, bringing the active case number down to 118, including four people in hospital and two or those patients are in intensive care.
During the province’s COVID-19 briefing Thursday, Dr. Jennifer Russell said 10 cases have now been linked to the recent outbreak at UNB Fredericton’s Magee House.
The staff and residents who lived at the Elizabeth Parr-Johnston residence were also tested Tuesday and so far, all tests have come back negative. All residents and staff are self-isolating.
Dr. Russell also expressed gratitude to the pharmacists in the province who have been helping with the province’s vaccine roll-out, saying 100,000 doses have been administered by pharmacies across the province.
She said it’s still crucial for New Brunswickers to follow Public Health guidelines to contain the spread of the virus.
“We are making progress but the COVID-19 pandemic is definitely not over, outbreaks are happening each week and we do expect they will continue to happen,” said Russell. “Our best hope in preventing the spread of the virus rest with each of you and over the past year we’ve called learned the skills necessary to limit the spread of infection. But now more than ever, we must use those skills.”
Around 900 people are self-isolating after a confirmed case at George Street Middle School was announced earlier this week.
School staff, students and their families have been directed to self-isolate until midnight on Sunday, May 2, to allow for contact tracing and testing. So far, all test results have been negative.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy said though district staff is working on contingency plans for every scenario, parents and students should expect a return to learning, either distance or in-person as early as this coming Monday.
“These decisions will of course will be influenced by events,” said Cardy. “So as usual, stay tuned for advice, information and directives from public health.”
On Wednesday, Public Health said a small group from Fredericton High School may have been exposed to the virus from a source outside of the school.
The group is self-isolating and being tested as a precaution, and the school community was notified.
With the end of the school year fast approaching, Cardy encouraged students in the province who haven’t been contacted by Public Health to continue attending school.
“I want to acknowledge what an important time this is for high school students, and it’s why I strongly encourage all students who haven’t been directly contacted by Public Health to please continue attending school. Follow your regular schedule,” he said.
Cardy said if New Brunswickers continue to closely follow guidelines, he’s hopeful there can be some form of limited graduation or prom events for the class of 2021.
“There’s everything to aim for here as we get, especially for our graduating class, certainly my hope is, following protocols set by public health for gatherings and so on, we will be able to have limited grad ceremonies, limited proms, events that fit in with the mandate from public health,” he said.
“But we can only have that if all of us do our part wrap our arms around that graduating class of 2021 by following the social distancing measures that public health has described.”
Cherise Letson is the associate editor of Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
