New Brunswick is continuing its streak of no new reported cases of COVID-19 in the province… As of Monday its been 9 days without a new reported case. Chief Medical Officer of Health Jennifer Russell shared the good news in yesterday’s briefing, but not without some reservations:
AUDIO Clip 1 Russell 26s
We are no where near ready to declare victory over the COVID-19 virus, as heartening as it is to report no new cases. That is not how I define success. COVID-19 is still with us. It will be with us for a very long time. And we need to be able to accurately track its progress and contain outbreaks when they emerge until a vaccine or other treatment becomes widely available. This is what we need to be doing.
Russell asked New Brunswickers to make sure they are getting tested when they need to. Currently, anyone with two of the five defined symptoms for COVID-19 should be getting tested…So that’s any two of:
- a fever above 39 degrees Celsius
- a persistent cough
- a sore throat,
- a headache,
- and a runny nose.
Russell said the number of symptoms that trigger testing may be adjusted down in the coming days, to ensure that people are indeed getting tested. The province’s testing capacity is 1000 tests per day, however current testing numbers are not reaching that threshold. Currently, New Brunswick has completed just over 13,000 tests across the province, or about 17 tests for every 100 people. That’s on par with other provinces where the outbreak has been small. Russell said capacity will go up to 2000 in the weeks to come. She repeatedly stressed the need for high levels of testing, but stopped short of actually adjusting testing criteria.
AUDIO Clip 2 Russell 34s
It is really really important for people to get tested. We can’t accurately give information and recommendations around what measures to impose or release without the right information. So our testing levels have to remain as high as possible. So call 811 immediately, and then follow the instructions that you’re given. If you have some of those symptoms.
Denying or hiding your symptoms could have tragic consequences for your family and anyone who could come into contact with you. And I have heard in other jurisdictions that there is a problem with stigma and some people are reluctant to come forward. So I don’t want that to be a problem here in New Brunswick, I would like people to feel comfortable about presenting with their symptoms and getting tested.
On Friday the province issued new, slightly loosened restrictions allowing for people to expand their household bubble to include on more household, but the relationship has to be exclusive between the two households, explained Russell.
AUDIO CLIP 3 Russell 34s
To be safe. This really has to be limited to two households only to reduce the number of close contacts that you have because the virus is transmitted from person to person in very close contact. That’s why we keep saying two meters of distance. So if you have your very close contacts in your household, that you don’t have to socially distance with or physically distance with and one of the household, you’re expanding your close contacts. And those are the people that you need to stay in contact with exclusively. So it’s only two households, not two households and another household. If we continue to see good results, this may be expanded in the weeks ahead.
The two household bubble presents a tough choice for New Brunswickers, especially those with ample extended families and friend circles. Russell explained it’s designed to help reduce social isolation, while still minimizing chains of contact that could spread the virus.
AUDIO CLIP 4 Russell 1m24s
Well, this concept was borrowed from New Zealand and in the messaging around their bubble concept. Your immediate household is your bubble. And when you expand it to two households, the purpose of that is to minimize your number of contacts while decreasing isolation and all of the negative impacts that come with isolation. So obviously a person who lives alone would benefit the most from having that second household to bubble with. So then they wouldn’t be suffering from all those negative effects of isolation. And in terms of the elderly population, obviously, they are more at risk. So if you are bubbling with somebody who’s elderly, obviously, you need to be very, very conscious of the fact that anybody who has health conditions who’s immunocompromised, who is older, and by older it’s actually quite young, you know, 6065 or above, where kids are at higher risk from from having bad outcomes from COVID-19. So it’s very important that when you do this that you minimize, again your contact outside of the house, make sure you’re not going out for non essential things and you’re not going out unnecessarily. So again, you’re trying to minimize the risk of contracting COVID-19 and bringing it into the household. And then you’re also trying to decrease the negative impacts of isolation.
Russell was concerned over tales of multi-family gatherings and neighbourhood get togethers over the weekend, something she said what “Not okay”. “Given the incubation period of the virus,” she said, “It may be a couple of weeks before we know if any harm has been done.”
And if there is a surge in numbers, New Brunswick may have to take a step backward and increase restrictions again.
AUDIO CLIP 5 Russell 29 s
We have very clear triggers in place from a public health perspective, to be able to go from one phase to another depending on the risks and the numbers. And so we really have to be conscious of that that everything that we’ve achieved thus far is not guaranteed to move forward, we have to really stick with the program in terms of continuing to follow public health advice. And again, I need everybody in the in the population to be able to continue to do that for us to succeed collectively.
Premier Blaine Higgs said that calls to the provincial hotline over the weekend were up from the previous week, with 758 calls coming in. Over the past week, he said, 22 tickets were issues for violations of the public health order.
Higgs also hinted that in the next two to four weeks, non medical masks may become mandatory. Currently the province has strongly recommended the use of non-medical masks wherever physical distancing is hard to maintain.
Higgs tried to clear up some confusion about parks versus playgrounds: while parks are permitted to open, playgrounds are not, because the equipment is considered an easy transfer point for the virus.
There was also confusion surrounding a chart released by the province on Friday outlining the phases of the recovery plan, as well as the triggers that might cause the government to reverse course. The chart initially released seemed to indicate that people would now be permitted to meet in groups of up to 10 people, but the province has since revised the graphic, with the 10-group gathering rule moved to a later phase.
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