New Brunswick goes green; report seven new cases of COVID-19 Friday

N.B. to lift all COVID-19 restrictions At midnight Friday, New Brunswick will be lifting all remaining COVID-19 restrictions as it makes a vaccine push.

HALIFAX — New Brunswick is reporting seven new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as the number of active cases in the province rises to 19.

Five new cases were identified in the Moncton region (Zone 1), involving an individual under 19, three people in their 20s, and an individual in their 30s. Three cases are under investigation, one is travel related and the other case is a contact of a previously confirmed case.

Two new cases were identified in the Fredericton region (Zone 3), involving an individual under 19 and an individual in their 30s. One case is travel related and another is under investigation.

N.B. TO MOVE TO GREEN PHASE OF REOPENING AT MIDNIGHT

New Brunswick will move into the Green phase of its recovery plan at midnight, lifting all public health restrictions and opening the province to travel.

As of 11:59 p.m. on July 30, the following restrictions will be removed in the province.

"We came to this decision because we have reached our goal of 75 per cent of our eligible population having received their first vaccine, and are now at 81 per cent," said N.B. Premier Blaine Higgs during a news update. "We know that there will be new cases, but thanks to the amount of people that are already vaccinated, we do not think that our health care system will be threatened."

As of midnight Friday, all provincial border restrictions will be lifted, provincial border checks will cease, and registration will no longer be required to visit New Brunswick from anywhere in Canada.

However, travellers will still be subject to Canada's federal restrictions on International travel.

“At this time, patients, staff and visitors to all hospitals and health-care facilities, including COVID-19 assessment centres and vaccination clinics, must continue to wear masks to reduce the risk of transmission within the health-care system,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “Any patient with a valid medical exemption to wearing a mask, is asked to call in advance to the department or service to ensure arrangements can be made to accommodate them.”

EXPOSURE NOTIFICATIONS

New Brunswick Public Health added the following to its list of public exposure notifications on Friday.

Zone 1 (Moncton region)

Zone 3 (Fredericton region)

Flight exposure notifications

N.B. CASE DATA

New Brunswick has had 2,365 cumulative cases of COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.

In total, 2,299 people have recovered, and 46 people have died in the province from COVID-19.

There is currently no one hospitalized in New Brunswick due to COVID-19.

On Thursday, 748 tests were conducted in the province. A total of 380,447 tests have been conducted since the beginning of the pandemic.

The number of cases is broken down by New Brunswick’s seven health zones:

VACCINE UPDATE

New Brunswick's COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the amount of vaccines that have been administered to date.

As of Friday, 1,031,439 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in New Brunswick. The province says 82 per cent of the eligible population has received at least one dose, with 66.7 per cent now fully vaccinated.

All eligible New Brunswickers can book their second dose appointments if at least 28 days have passed since their first dose.

To receive their second dose, New Brunswickers are asked to bring a signed consent form, their Medicare card and a copy of the record of immunization provided after receiving their first dose.

Appointments for people who have not yet received their first dose continue to be available to all New Brunswickers aged 12 and older at regional health authority clinics and through participating pharmacies.

Public Health is also reminding New Brunswickers to keep a copy of their Record of Immunization form as their official proof of vaccination.

The provincial government has organized a series of mobile walk-in clinics for those who have not yet received their first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Clinics are taking place this week at the following locations:

A mobile walk-in vaccination clinic will be held Monday at the Crowne Plaza at 659 Queen St. in Fredericton from noon to 5 p.m. The clinic will be for those who have not yet received their first or second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. Pfizer will be available at this clinic.

YELLOW LEVEL REMINDER

All of New Brunswick remains under the Yellow level of recovery under the province’s order, which will be lifted effective 11:59 p.m. July 30.