FREDERICTON They re not calling it an outbreak, but New Brunswick Public Health has sent a risk management team to a Fredericton hotel after five COVID-19 cases were confirmed. Another 10 cases are close contacts and there s also a long list of exposure sites in the city including several restaurants, retail businesses and the city s library. Twenty-five exposure sites is a lot and we know that it doesn t take much for the variants to be transmitted, said New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard. Testing is ramping up. Hotel staff and vendors have been tested twice this week. On Friday, an outbreak has been declared at the everett chalmers hospital, where one employee tested positive.
SAINT JOHN, N.B. Nearly a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, wearing a mask has become second nature for most New Brunswickers, but the city of Saint John is looking to clear up any confusion when it comes to what to do when you re outside. It has issued more than one reminder this month alone, that wearing a face covering in the outdoors is mandatory. In an email, city spokesperson Lisa Caissie writes with the changes we have experienced in recovery levels over the past month,we felt as though some people may not have been aware of the requirements to wear a mask in outdoor public spaces, such as busy sidewalks, trails, and parks.
New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard. (GNB YouTube)
The Health Minister plans to take part in a
virtual consultation tourto gather feedback on the future of provincial healthcare.
Dorothy Shephard said her department has created a discussion paperoutlining the current challenges and the vision for what a sustainable health-care system could look like.
The tour will be virtual and Shephard said it’s not her preferred way of engagement.
“I would much prefer to be in the room to be having those body language impressions to have a very personal conversation with people so, for me, it’s a different way of communicating,” Shephard said.
CBC Radio s The House: Capitol under siege
On this week’s show: A U.S. congresswoman describes being locked down in the Capitol after rioters stormed the building. A voting rights advocate explains how Black voters helped the Democrats flip two Senate seats in Georgia. Two provincial officials address the vaccine rollout in their provinces. And we talk about the politics of prioritizing professional hockey during a pandemic.
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Posted: Jan 09, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: January 9
Supporters of President Donald Trump gather outside the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Shafkat Anowar)(Shafkat Anowar/The Associated Press)
SAINT JOHN, N.B. Many New Brunswickers watched Thursday s provincial COVID-19 briefing with the unmet expectation some areas would transition to red the government s highest level of pandemic restrictions. There s a lot of comments and chatter on social media about red and it hasn t come from government, said New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard. This situation will be assessed every single day. All areas of New Brunswick went from the yellow phase (the province s lowest level of COVID-19 restrictions) to orange (the middle level of restrictions) on Jan. 6. We need to see what (the orange ) phase will do to help us get things under control, said Shephard.