New Brunswick will be moving into phase one of the province’s ‘Path to Green’ reopening plan, after the province hit its 75 per cent vaccination target on Tuesday.
“We can now take the first steps towards reopening our province and removing some of the public health restrictions that have been in place since the pandemic began,” said N.B. chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell during Tuesday’s news update.
Public Health says as of Tuesday, 75.1 per cent of New Brunswickers aged 12 and older have now received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
“New Brunswick is in the top three provinces for the rate of vaccination,” said N.B. Premier Blaine Higgs during Tuesday’s news update. “I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to get the first dose of vaccine, to help protect their self, their loved ones, their family and their community. You’ve plaed a huge role in helping to move our province forward.”
“In particular, I want to give special praise to young New Brunswickers, the future of our province, who came out in the thousands the past 10 days, enabling us to reach today’s milestone,” added Russell. “We now have a majority of first-dose vaccinations in every age category, and I hope even more New Brunswickers will seek vaccines in the weeks ahead, because that will reduce the risk for everyone.”
According to Russell, nearly 12 per cent of eligible residents are now fully vaccinated with both doses, including 18 per cent of residents over the age of 65.
On Monday, 26,000 people booked first and second dose appointments online.
THREE NEW CASES
Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting three new COVID-19 cases and eight recoveries on Tuesday, as the active number of cases in the province drops to 85.
Two of the new cases were reported in the Fredericton region (Zone 3), involving an individual in their 20s, and an individual in their 80s. One of the cases is the contact of a previously reported case, and one is under investigation.
The other new case was identified in the Bathurst region (Zone 6), involving an individual in their 50s who is a close contact of a previously reported case.
N.B. COVID-19 CASE DATA
New Brunswick has had 2,302 cumulative cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
In total, 2,171 people have recovered, and 45 people have died in the province from COVID-19.
Eight people are currently in hospital with COVID-19 in total, Of those, six patients are hospitalized in New Brunswick, including two in an intensive care unit. One person is hospitalized outside of the province, in an intensive care unit.
Public health says 1,118 tests were completed on Monday in New Brunswick, and 352,506 total since the start of the pandemic.
The number of cases are broken down by New Brunswick’s seven health zones:
Zone 1 – Moncton region: 474 confirmed cases (19 active cases)
Zone 2 – Saint John region: 295 confirmed cases (no active case)
Zone 3 – Fredericton region: 429 confirmed cases (35 active cases)
Zone 4 – Edmundston region: 752 confirmed cases (one active case)
Zone 5 – Campbellton region: 185 confirmed cases (no active cases)
Zone 6 – Bathurst region: 128 confirmed cases (29 active cases)
Zone 7 – Miramichi region: 39 confirmed cases (one active case)