New Brunswick reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday.
10 of those cases were discovered in the Fredericton health zone, and the other six were spread across the Moncton, Saint John, Edmundston and Bathurst regions.
The government also identified 24 possible exposure sites in Fredericton, noting the cases are linked to the India variant of COVID-19.
Public Health announced 12 New Brunswickers recovered since Wednesday, and the active case number is now 127.
There are currently 10 New Brunswickers in hospital with COVID-19, six of whom are in New Brunswick hospitals, and two are in an intensive care unit.
Vaccination program ramps up
Public Health has now expanded vaccine eligibility to include anyone who will be 30 years of age or older in 2021.
The province’s chief medical officer of health praised New Brunswickers for quickly signing up for COVID-19 vaccines, allowing them to accelerate the vaccine rollout.
Dr. Jennifer Russell reported 300,000 people have received at least one dose of vaccine and more than 31,000 booked their appointment in the past week.
“We’ve also been able to accelerate out campaign, because our stock of vaccine supplies from the federal government has been growing steadily over the past several weeks, and we are on track to achieve our goal of providing a first dose to every New Brunswicker before Canada Day,” said Dr. Russell.
AstraZeneca changes
Dr. Jennifer Russell says New Brunswick has decided to stop using the AstraZeneca vaccine for first doses, though the province will still offer it as a second dose.
In a tweet following the news conference, Education Minister Dominic Cardy said that they made this decision over concerns of supply issues, indicating it was not due to concerns over blood clots.
“That’s only because of supply. We’re not changing our rules around AZ other than that. If the science changes we’ll listen but AZ is an important part of our fight against COVID. Speed counts. Vaccines vs variants,” tweeted Cardy.
In a revised news release, the province said the vaccine continues to be offered as an option for people over 55 with informed consent when supply is available.
“Currently the supply is limited so it is being used for those who are homebound and cannot access another vaccine. If supply of AstraZeneca increases, it will continue to be offered to New Brunswickers who want it,” said the release.
The province’s chief medical officer of health confirmed two new cases of vaccine-induced blood clots following a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The new cases involve two New Brunswickers in their 50s; one is still in hospital and the other has already recovered. Earlier in May, one New Brunswicker died after getting a blood clot caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Dr. Russell believes there’s little risk of using the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for second doses. She said the chances of developing a blood clot from a second dose is one in a million.
New Brunswick is due to receive 13,500 doses of AstraZeneca from the federal government on the May 17th weekend.
Fredericton outbreak
The COVID-19 outbreak in Fredericton has, unfortunately, affected three schools in the city.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy said there were two confirmed cases at Leo Hayes High School, and one confirmed case at Nashwaaksis Middle School. Both schools were closed today.
The minister also reported a possible exposure case in New Maryland Elementary School- but that school remains open.
Atlantic bubble
A report also came out today that Premier Blaine Higgs would like to see the Atlantic Bubble open again on July 1. When asked about this target date, Dr. Russell said it’s too early to tell what might happen with the pandemic a few months from now.
“I think these targets are always moving targets based on our epidemiology,” said Dr. Russell. “It’s really unpredictable at this point to be able say what will be possible. We have to wait and see what happens in Nova Scotia around their case numbers and, obviously, we have an evolving situation here in Zone 3 (Fredericton area).”
Pandemic frustration
Dr. Russell pleaded with the public to not take their frustrations with the pandemic on the hardworking nurses and frontline staff. She asked everyone to show empathy and understanding towards one another during these exhausting times.
“I ask that you treat our public health nurses and contact tracing staff with respect,” she said. “We’re all human here; we’ve all been working at this for over a year. We’re all doing our best to protect our entire population and the healthcare system.”
“Under no circumstance should any of our staff be subjected to verbal abuse. If you have challenges, there are other ways to express that.”
