New Brunswick reported 30 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and said Zone 4 (Edmundston region) will move to a full lockdown on Saturday night.
According to the province, eight cases are confirmed in Zone 1 (Moncton region), one in Zone 2 (Saint John region), one in Zone 3 (Fredericton region), one in Zone 7 (Miramichi region) and 19 in Zone 4 (Edmundston region).
Since the majority of the new cases are in Zone 4, Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, said at the briefing that the “strongest measures” are needed there.
Russell said Zone 4 has six times the average cases compared to the rest of the province.
She said there are now 129 active cases in Zone 4, but it’s forecasted that it could hit 200 active cases early next week.
There are currently 331 active cases of the coronavirus overall across the province. Five people are in hospital and three in the intensive care unit.
Russell reassured parents by saying that public health has not seen a confirmed case that was the result of transmission between students.She also noted that keeping kids in school is important, as it instills a sense of normalcy and reassures them that “everything’s going to be OK.”
Health Minister Dorothy Shephard confirmed that the lockdown in Zone 4 will begin at 11:59 Saturday night.
In the meantime, zones 1, 2 and 3 will remain in the red phase, while zones 5, 6 and 7 will remain in the orange COVID-19 recovery phase.
More to come…