Zoë Watson, the superintendent of the Anglophone South School District. (Image: Tamara Steele)
The Anglophone South School District has seen a spike in student absences since Zone 2 moved to the Red phase this week.
Numbers provided by the school district show around 15 per cent of students were absent Monday and Tuesday.
That figure jumped to 23 per cent on Wednesday the first day in the Red phase and 27 per cent on Thursday.
Zoë Watson, the superintendent of the school district, said she was not surprised by the increase.
“We had noted that same jump in absenteeism back in November when our area went to the Orange phase for the first time,” Watson said in an interview Thursday.
Posted: Jan 19, 2021 9:45 AM AT | Last Updated: January 20
Premier Blaine Higgs and Dr. Jennifer Russell urged residents to continue to follow Public Health measures as the province moves to the yellow phase, warning the variants are still a threat. (Submitted by the Government of New Brunswick)
Another 26 cases are being reported in the province yesterday…9 are in Saint John region, 7 each in Moncton and Fredericton, 2 in Edmundston and 1 in the bathurst region. The Miramichi is still COVID free.
All cases are self isolating and under investigation. There are currently
304 active cases in New Brunswick, but only one patient is in hospital.
With the number of cases turning up in the three largest cities in the province…Moncton, Saint John and Fredericton….the premier and chief medical officer of health are considering whether to move them to the red phase and its much tighter restrictions later this week.
New Brunswick COVID-19 Update
The seven cases in Zone 1 (Moncton region) are as follows
three people 30-39;
three people 19 and under;
two people 20-29;
two people 19 and under;
two people 30-39;
an individual 20-29; and
an individual 50-59.
All cases are self-isolating and under investigation.
The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 973 and 656 have recovered. There have been 12 deaths, and the number of active cases is 304. One patient is hospitalized. As of today, 174,195 tests have been conducted.
“We have kept the avalanche of cases out of New Brunswick so far,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “We must act now to keep this virus from doing even more damage than we are already seeing, especially with transmission now in workplaces. We cannot keep COVID-19 out completely, so we must do absolutely everything we can to prevent it from spreading within our province.”
There has been another confirmed case of COVID-19 at a school in the Saint John region.
Families at Quispamsis Middle School received an email from the Anglophone South School District on Sunday night announcing the case.
Superintendent Zoë Watson said they are working with Public Health to identify any students and staff who may have been in contact with the case.
“Public Health officials will contact you if your child has been in close contact with the confirmed case and will tell you if your child needs to self-isolate,” Watson wrote in the email.
“If you are not contacted by Public Health officials, your child can continue to attend school.”