Some New Brunswickers with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive rapid test result could have to wait up to six days for a PCR test.
Public Health says assessment centres in southern New Brunswick continue to deal with a backlog of testing requests.
There is a backlog of about 2,100 requests in the Saint John health region (Zone 2) as of Tuesday, the province said in a news release.
“All priority groups, which include Public Health referrals, health-care workers and those who work or live in vulnerable settings (such as long-term care) are being scheduled within 48 hours,” said the release.
The next priorities, which include symptomatic people and those who test positive on a point-of-care test, are being booked for a test within 144 hours, or six days.
Officials said more resources and extended hours have been allotted to the Saint John assessment centre to help clear the backlog.
Meanwhile, there is a backlog of about 545 requests in the Fredericton health region (Zone 3). All priority groups are being scheduled for testing within 24 hours and the next priorities within 72 hours.
In the Moncton health region (Zone 1), there is a backlog of about 500 requests. All priority groups are being scheduled within 24 hours and the next priorities are being booked for a test within 48 hours.
Active cases surpass 2,000
Public Health reported 306 new cases and 139 recoveries on Tuesday as the number of active cases reached 2,017.
Just over 2,300 tests have been completed in the past 24 hours, according to the province’s COVID-19 dashboard.
There are 111 new cases in the Moncton region, 90 in the Saint John health zone, 46 in the Fredericton region, 24 in the Miramichi health zone, 18 in the Bathurst region, nine in the Edmundston health zone, and eight in the Campbellton region.
There are currently 38 people in the hospital with COVID-19, an increase of three from Monday. The number of people in intensive care has fallen by one to 13.
There are 824 active cases in the Saint John region, 543 in the Moncton health zone, 317 in the Fredericton region, 156 in the Edmundston health zone, 97 in the Miramichi region, 52 in the Bathurst health zone, and 28 in the Campbellton region.
As of Tuesday, 82.8 per cent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated, 90 per cent have received their first dose of a vaccine, and 18.4 per cent have received a booster dose.
The rate of new cases is 38.4 per 100,000 for the fully vaccinated, 27.9 per 100,000 for the partially vaccinated, and 49 per 100,000 for the unvaccinated.
Of those currently in hospital, the rate is 2.6 per 100,000 for the fully vaccinated, 0 per 100,000 for the partially vaccinated, and 20.7 per 100,000 for the unvaccinated.
Among those in the ICU, the rates are 0.5 per 100,000 for the fully vaccinated, 0 per 100,000 for the partially vaccinated, and 9.4 per 100,000 for the unvaccinated.
