Dr. Jennifer Russell, the chief medical officer of health for New Brunswick. (Photo: Government of New Brunswick/YouTube video capture)
New Brunswick health officials announced 17 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said the cases are all linked to an outbreak at a special care home in Moncton.
The new cases bring the total number of confirmed cases related to Manoir Notre-Dame to 19.
Russell said 13 of the cases are residents at the special care home, four are health-care workers, and two are family members who are close contacts of infected people.
Two residents from the home are in stable condition in hospital, she said.
Public Health has identified potential public exposure at the Moncton Costco Optical Centre and at the Moncton St-Hubert restaurant.
People who have visited these locations since Oct. 1 should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
If you develop any COVID-19 symptoms, self-isolate and call 811 to get tested or take the self-assessment online.
Wednesday marked the highest single-day count reported in New Brunswick since the pandemic began in March.
17 new cases of COVID-19.https://t.co/aFsjMbMDUc
— Government of NB (@Gov_NB) October 7, 2020
Premier Blaine Higgs said the Manoir Notre-Dame outbreak highlights how serious the pandemic is.
He said it’s easy to forget when our numbers are low but COVID-19 is still with us and will be for the foreseeable future.
“We’ve repeated that message several times in relation to not getting accustomed to a normal until there is a vaccine. It’s a normal with Covid, it’s a normal with masks, it’s a normal with social distancing. It’s a normal with reduced numbers and activities that are different than they have been in the past,” Higgs said.
Higgs said they are grateful for the hard work by the Provincial Rapid Outbreak Management Team trying to contain the outbreak.
He told the family and friends of residents at Manoir Notre-Dame they are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of their loved ones.
He urged diligence in hand-washing, physical distancing and wearing masks.
“We will recover from this outbreak and we’ll do with everyone’s help and the diligence of the great workers doing the contact tracing and identifying how widespread this outbreak really is,” Higgs said.
He encouraged New Brunswickers to do their part to keep the province it’s most vulnerable residents safe and healthy.
“We cannot takes chances. We understand you want to spend Thanksgiving surrounded by loved ones but, please keep your gatherings small,” Higgs said.
