Stay Close To Home During March Break: Dr. Russell

With March break just a few weeks away, many New Brunswickers are usually gearing up to spend a bit of time away from home.

But the province’s chief medical officer of health said things will have to be different this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Travel outside of Canada is definitely not recommended and we would discourage travel to other provinces at this time,” Dr. Jennifer Russell said during a COVID-19 briefing on Monday.

Russell said Public Health would also like to see New Brunswickers moving around less within the province over the March break.

She encouraged people to enjoy the holiday close to home by restricting travel to within the zone where they live.

“By limiting travel within the province, we are reducing the opportunity for the virus to spread and new outbreaks to occur,” said Russell.

New Brunswick saw a drastic spike in COVID-19 cases following the holidays in December.

More than 650 cases were reported in January, accounting for nearly half of the cases recorded in the province since the pandemic began.

In addition to limiting travel, Russell also encouraged New Brunswickers to keep their interactions to their “Steady 10” group of family and friends.

“Those close contacts are the people that will be self-isolating when you test positive or one of them tests positive for COVID-19,” she said.

Russell reminded people to wear masks when in public, keep two metres from other people, wash your hands, and get tested if you have symptoms of COVID-19.

The province’s top doctor said she knows we are all tired of COVID-19, but now is not the time to relax and let our guard down.

“It’s actually the time to double down on our efforts because every single protective measure that we have in place from a public health perspective is just one part of the solution of staying safe and reducing our risks, so we need each and every one of those pieces of protection augmented and amplified right now.”