Dr. Jennifer Russell, the chief medical officer of health in New Brunswick, delivers a COVID-19 update on May 4, 2021. (Image: Government of New Brunswick/YouTube video capture)
As residents in the Saint John zone prepare to see COVID-19 circuit breakers lifted at 6pm Friday night, residents in the Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe regions aren’t so lucky.
New Brunswick’s Chief medical Health Officer Dr. Jennifer Russell says they used positivity rates when making their decisions, “We’re seeing transmission in peoples homes, where technically speaking they shouldn’t be as people are gathering there, and they shouldn’t be. We also look at the trends, and are the trends going in the right direction.”
The Saint John zone has seen an increase in cases recently, but Dr. Russell says most of the new cases are from people who previously had positive rapid test results and were self-isolating while awaiting their P-C-R test results.
Dr. Russell says it’s a different story in parts of Zone 1, specifically Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe, “It’s really about transmission patterns. Are people following the rules, are they isolating properly? We do have a lot of, with respect to people not following measures in Zone 1.”
She adds, the rising number of COVID-19 cases in some other provinces in the country is always concerning. As people are getting vaccinated, Public Health has been able to lift certain restrictions, but with circuit breakers, they have had to reimplement some measures, “It’s unfortunate in the sense that people were expecting to be able to have way more freedom as vaccination rates increased, but the reality is we are just needing to address the realities as they are today.
She says the frustrations and fatigue surrounding COVID-19 are real.
Dr. Jennifer Russell says New Brunswickers need supports to help get them through this, “Having unexpected things thrown at us as well, in terms of strike action and job action and kids at home learning at line right now, these are all things that cause a lot of stress.”
Dr. Russell says it’s important that residents are aware of the places where they can gets supports as they get through the next few weeks and months..
Enforcement is being increased in areas still under a circuit breaker. Dr. Russell is reminding everyone a single household includes those who live together, but it can also include a caregiver, or others who require support. Those found to be breaking COVID-19 guidelines will be fined.
