New Brunswick has recorded the first COVID-19 death in the province.
The death is linked to the ongoing outbreak in Zone 5, the region of Campbellton, N.B.
The cluster has been traced back to a Campbellton doctor who contracted the virus in Quebec and did not self-isolate upon his return to New Brunswick.
Michel Ouellette has identified his father, Daniel Ouellete, as the man who died.
He told Global News that his father was a hard-working family man that was full of energy.
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The 84-year-old was a resident of Manoir de la Vallée, a 57-bed long-term care facility in Atholville, N.B.
Michel told Global News that on May 29, staff told him his father would be tested for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
Daniel was later admitted to hospital on Sunday. Michel said his family hadn’t been able to see Daniel afterward.
On Thursday morning, he received a call that his father had died.
“Not going in to see him and say goodbye and all that, that was the going through hell, for us — that was the worst part for us. I don’t wish that to nobody, nobody on earth, nobody at all,” Michel told Global News over the phone.
Daniel leaves behind five children and five grandchildren.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, acknowledged the death at a COVID-19 update on Thursday.
“I cautioned that a day would come when we would have sad news,” she said.
Both Russell and Premier Blaine Higgs offered their condolences to the family Daniel Ouellete, although they did not identify him by name.
“We are grieving today, but we are also moving forward. We can’t stand still in our province,” Russell said.
As of Thursday, the province was reporting 15 active cases in Zone 5. The additional case announced on Thursday is a staff member at Manoir de la Vallée.
The cases are all in the 18-bed Alzheimer’s or advanced dementia wing, according to the facility’s director.
That was the wing that Daniel was living in when he was infected, Michel told Global News