Exactly five months after New Brunswick announced its first case of COVID-19 health officials announced another case of the novel coronavirus, the first in four days.
Premier Blaine Higgs and chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell made the announcement of the new case, a person in their 40s in the Fredericton-area on Tuesday.
The cause of the new case is under investigation.
There are now seven active cases in the province.
Since the outbreak began New Brunswick has reported 177 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 168 recoveries.
There have been two deaths in the province, both in the Campbellton region.
Russel said on Tuesday that the province’s public health officials have reviewed all of the province’s public health recovery alert levels, red, orange, yellow and green.
All areas in the province are currently in the yellow alert level.
Officials have tweaked the levels, Russell said, revising triggers and rules ahead of a possible second wave of the novel coronavirus.
Triggers are linked to three areas: provincial epidemiology, testing/tracing capacity and health-care system/hospital capacity.
Russell said that if any of the three triggers become overwhelmed in a specific zone, then that zone will move to the previous alert levels.
“We never want to again shut down our province like we did this spring,” said Higgs.
Another big change announced by the province on Tuesday is that daycares will remain open under all alert levels.
Caregivers will also remain part of bubbles, even down to the single-family bubble in the red alert level.
Physical distancing in seated venues is also being dropped to one metre as long as masks are being worn.
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