Tracy Culligan, Councillor, Belledune, NB

Zone 1 (Moncton region), Zone 2 (Saint John region) and Zone 3 (Fredericton region) are moving to the Red level at midnight. Public Health reported 31 new cases... of COVID-19 today. Public Health also confirmed today an individual 80-89 died in Zone 2 (Saint John region) as a result of underlying complications, including COVID-19. The person was a resident of Lily Court of Parkland Saint John’s Tucker Hall. This is the province’s 13th COVID-related death. Marcia and I are saddened to learn of the death of another New Brunswicker as a result of COVID-19, said Premier Blaine Higgs. We offer our sincere condolences to the loved ones of this person. My heartfelt condolences to the family and friends who are grieving this loss, said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. I encourage all New Brunswickers to keep these people in their thoughts and prayers at this difficult time, as well as the others who have lost someone they love to this virus. Zone 4 (Edmundston region) remains at the Red level under the province’s COVID-19 recovery plan. Zones 5, 6 and 7 remain at the Orange level. 31 new cases The four cases in Zone 1 (Moncton region) are as follows two people 40-49; an individual 50-59; and an individual 60-69. The three cases in Zone 2 (Saint John region) are as follows: two people 19 and under; and an individual 40-49. The one case in Zone 3 (Fredericton region) is as follows: an individual 19 and under. The 21 cases in Zone 4 (Edmundston region) are as follows: an individual 19 and under; an individual 20-29; two people 30-39; three people 40-49; seven people 50-59; five people 60-69; an individual 70-79; and an individual 80-89. The one case in Zone 5 (Campbellton region) is as follows: an individual 50-59. The one case in Zone 6 (Bathurst region) is as follows: an individual 20-29. All cases are self-isolating and under investigation. The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 1,004 and 674 have recovered. There have been 13 deaths, and the number of active cases is 316. One patient is hospitalized. As of today, 176,034 tests have been conducted. Details on cases and testing can be found on the GNB website. Mobile and most browsers: bit.ly/2BmLpeD IE users: bit.ly/2VsD1RV We have to get to herd immunity over the next several months while continuing to battle new variants, new travel-related cases, delays in vaccine delivery and while protecting the health-care system, health-care workers and our vulnerable populations, said Russell. This is a critical moment, said Higgs. If case numbers continue to rise now that four health zones have moved to the Red level, we will have to go back into a full lockdown like we did in March. Public Health will have more information soon about how that lockdown would work, as well as additional measures that would be put in place if moving to the Red level is not effective. Schools to remain open in Red level A change has been made which keeps K-12 schools open even at the Red level. This will be done with enhanced health and safety measures including: Students and staff stay home if they have even one symptom of COVID-19. School staff are actively screened for COVID-19 when they report to work each day. If a positive case of COVID-19 is confirmed at a school in the Red level, the school will be closed for a minimum of three days to allow for contact tracing. On-site testing will also be available for school staff. Confirmed cases in schools Regarding all cases identified at schools, if you or a family member have been in close contact with a case, you will be notified by Public Health for contact tracing. If you do not hear directly from Public Health, you have not been identified as a close contact. Zone 2 (Saint John region) A positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed at Princess Elizabeth School in Saint John and the school community has been notified. The majority of students returned to school today, while one class learns from home for the next two weeks. As the case was identified and contact tracing was carried out prior to Zone 2 moving to Red, the school will remain open, unless otherwise advised by Public Health authorities. Zone 4 (Edmundston region) A positive case of COVID-19 has been confirmed at École Régionale Saint-Basile in Saint-Basile and the school community has been notified. As the school is located in Zone 4, which is in the Red level, the school will close to students for three days to allow for contact tracing and testing of school staff. Exposure notification in zone 1 Public Health follows a standard process when addressing instances where the public may have been exposed to a case of COVID-19. In cases where record-keeping is able to identify anyone who may have been exposed, officials contact these individuals directly and do not issue a separate announcement. In cases where officials cannot be certain of exactly who may have been exposed to the virus in a given location, Public Health issues an announcement to alert those who could have been affected and provides instructions. Public Health has identified potential public exposure to the virus at the following location: Goodlife Fitness Centre on Jan. 13 between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. (175 Ivan Rand Drive East, Moncton Zone 1). Relief for small businesses Higgs reminded small businesses impacted by the new restrictions that they could be eligible for financial relief in the form of a non-repayable grant. Through Opportunities New Brunswick, these grants of up to $5,000 will be available for small businesses that have been subject to Orange or Red alert level measures for at least one week between Oct. 10, 2020, and March 31, 2021. This new support program is in addition to the enhancements being made to the Small Business Emergency Working Capital Program that resulted in more than $17 million being distributed to businesses throughout the province. It is expected applications will begin to be accepted the first week of February. A list of federal and provincial business relief programs available to businesses as they navigate through relief and recovery is available online.

https://www.cbc.ca//nearly-half-of-adult-canadians-struggl

Public Health confirmed two deaths today in Zone 2 (Saint John region) as a result of underlying complications, including COVID-19. These deaths bring the total... number of COVID-related deaths to 11. An individual 80-89 and another 70-79 died earlier today. Both were residents of Lily Court of Parkland Saint John’s Tucker Hall. Marcia and I are saddened to learn of this loss, said Premier Blaine Higgs. On behalf of all New Brunswickers, we offer our sincere condolences to their families and friends. I join New Brunswickers in offering my heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of these two people, said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. You are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time. I encourage everyone who is displaying COVID-19 symptoms to get tested. Do not take chances with your health, the health of your loved ones or of others in the community. 17 new cases Public Health reported 17 new cases of COVID-19 today. The four cases in Zone 1 (Moncton region) are as follows: an individual 30-39; two people 50-59; and an individual 60-69. The four cases in Zone 2 (Saint John region) are as follows: an individual 19 and under; an individual 60-69; an individual 80-89; and an individual 90 and over. The four cases in Zone 3 (Fredericton region) are as follows: an individual 19 and under; an individual 30-39; an individual 40-49; and an individual 50-59. The four cases in Zone 4 (Edmundston region) are as follows: an individual 19 and under; an individual 40-49; an individual 50-59; and an individual 60-69. The one case in Zone 5 (Campbellton region) is as follows: an individual 50-59. All cases are self-isolating and under investigation. The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 817 and 586 have recovered. There have been 11 deaths, and the number of active cases is 219. As of today, 164,885 tests have been conducted. Details on cases and testing can be found on the GNB website. Mobile and most browsers: bit.ly/2BmLpeD IE users: bit.ly/2VsD1RV Case at New Maryland Elementary School On Monday, Jan. 11, a positive case of COVID-19 was confirmed at New Maryland Elementary School. The school community has been notified. The majority of students returned to school today, with the exception of a Grade 2 class that learned from home. Unless advised by Public Health, students should return to school. If you or a family member have been in close contact with this case, you will be notified by Public Health for contact tracing. If you do not hear directly from Public Health, you have not been identified as a close contact. Entire province remains at Orange level Residents are reminded that the entire province remains at the Orange level under the province’s COVID-19 recovery plan. Orange level rules are available online.

Public Health reported 21 new cases of COVID-19 today. The four cases in Zone 1 (Moncton region) are as follows: two people 19 and under;... an individual 20-29; and an individual 30-39. The seven cases in Zone 3 (Fredericton region) are as follows: an individual 19 and under; an individual 20-29; two people 30-39; an individual 40-49; an individual 60-69; and an individual 80-89. The six cases in Zone 4 (Edmundston region) are as follows: three people 50-59; and three people 60-69. The four cases in Zone 5 (Campbellton region) are as follows: an individual 19 and under; an individual 30-39; and two people 40-49. All cases are self-isolating and under investigation. The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 800 and 586 have recovered. There have been nine deaths, and the number of active cases is 204. One patient is hospitalized. As of today, 163,556 tests have been conducted. Details on cases and testing can be found on the GNB website. Mobile and most browsers: bit.ly/2BmLpeD IE users: bit.ly/2VsD1RV When you follow Public Health guidance you are protecting yourselves and your families against this very serious disease, said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. You are also protecting our ability to move forward with our vaccination campaign. The campaign may take up to nine months, helping us bring this pandemic to an end. COVID-19 vaccination update Each person being vaccinated requires two doses. To highlight the vaccination effort, updates will be posted once a week on the COVID-19 dashboard available at: COVID-19 Dashboard (mobile and most browsers) COVID-19 Dashboard (for Internet Explorer users) Weekly updates will include the number of doses of vaccine received, the number of doses administered, the number of doses held to serve as the second dose and the number of people fully vaccinated. Vaccination clinics for priority groups are planned to take place in Campbellton, Edmundston, Fredericton and Saint John this week. Schools in Zone 3 Townsview School and Woodstock High School in Woodstock had an operational response day today. Students stayed home while school staff prepared for remote learning. Students from both schools will begin learning from home on Tuesday, Jan. 12, and will continue learning remotely the remainder of the week. We have always said that we will not hesitate to move to home learning if and when the need is identified, but these decisions cannot be made lightly, said Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy. The department’s primary mandate is to ensure that students are able to have access to high-quality education. Students need healthy and safe schools to be successful, that is why we have put plans in place to ensure our schools are able to stay open, even with a small number of cases. Schools in Zone 5 Students from Académie Notre-Dame and École Aux-Quatre-Vents in Dalhousie stayed home today for an operational response day. Students at École Aux-Quatre-Vents will move to virtual learning on Tuesday, Jan. 12 for two weeks. The majority of students at Académie will return to school on Tuesday, Jan. 12, with the exception of a few classes that will continue to learn remotely for the next two weeks. School staff will contact families directly today with more information. Grade 10 students at Polyvalente Roland-Pépin in Campbellton are learning from home, but no other impact on learning is anticipated at this time. Bessborough School (Zone 1) The majority of students returned to school today, with the exception of a few classes that will continue to learn remotely for the next two weeks. Update on outbreaks at adult residential facilities An outbreak at an adult residential facility is declared whenever there is a single laboratory-confirmed case of COVID-19 in a resident or staff member. There are no new cases at Parkland Saint John, Fundy Royal Manor (Hillsborough), Canterbury Hall at Parkland Riverview or at Foyer Ste-Elizabeth (Baker-Brook). The staff and residents at these four facilities will be retested this week. Exposure notifications Public Health follows a standard process when addressing instances where the public may have been exposed to a case of COVID-19. In cases where record-keeping is able to identify anyone who may have been exposed, officials contact these individuals directly and do not issue a separate announcement. In cases where officials cannot be certain of exactly who may have been exposed to the virus in a given location, Public Health issues an announcement to alert those who could have been affected and provides instructions. NEW: January 1 to 3 from 6:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. Miss Cue pool hall (495 Mountain Rd., Moncton) On Jan. 11, Public Health identified a positive case in a traveler who may have been infectious on Jan. 6 while on the following flight: Air Canada Flight 8910 from Toronto to Moncton arrived at 11:30 a.m. Entire province remains at Orange level Residents are reminded that the entire province remains at the Orange level under the province’s COVID-19 recovery plan. Orange level rules are available online.