Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that one of the two cases health officials addressed on Thursday was previously announced earlier this week.
New Brunswick health officials addressed the two COVID-19-related deaths that have occurred since they last provide a televised update.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, confirmed that both deaths reported this week occurred in the Edmundston region.
One of the individuals was a resident at Manoir Belle Vue, a long-term care home, and the other was a resident at Villa Des Jardins.
Both were in their 80s with one dying Tuesday and another dying earlier on Thursday.
There have now been 22 COVID-related deaths in New Brunswick since the start of the pandemic.
The news came as New Brunswick attempted to provide a better understanding of COVID-19 variants that have been recently found in the province.
As of Thursday, there have been five cases involving variants detected in the province, four of which were the B.1.1.7. variant, which was first discovered in the U.K., and one of which was the N501Y.V2 variant, which was first discovered in South Africa.
Russell was joined by Health Minister Dorothy Shephard and Dr. Gordon Dow, an infectious disease specialist, during the update on Thursday.
Dow told media that the COVID-19 variant is expected to rapidly replace older strains once they are introduced to a population.
He said that although they don’t know everything about the variants, there should be cause for concern.
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Dow said the variants are also able to infect people who have recovered from the older, original strain of COVID-19.
Some COVID-19 vaccines are less effective against some variants, Dow said, and younger people are more vulnerable to new variants.
But that doesn’t mean that New Brunswickers should despair, he said.
Current public health guidance — such as masks, handwashing and physical distancing — also works against the variants that have been detected.
“The things we do for the new strain is the same as what we do for the old strain,” said Dow.
He recommended that New Brunswickers remain vigilant and be open to accomodating a change in health restrictions as more information becomes available to health officials.
“The cost of complacency is completely avoidable,” Dow said.
It was a message echoed by Shephard when she addressed the update, saying she empathized with those who are frustrated by the shifting lockdowns.
“We are constantly analyzing the situation,” said the health minister.
READ MORE: New Brunswick reports 15 new cases, 1 death and 4th U.K. variant case
Russell confirmed that the province has approximately 40 tests that are waiting to be processed at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg in order to confirm whether those cases are COVID-19 variants.
There is about a week’s delay in processing those tests, New Brunswick’s top doctor confirmed.
She said that when the province suspects an individual has a COVID-19 variant or tests positive after coming in contact with the COVID-19 variant they are being directed to self-isolate for at least 21 days.
That’s being done in order to make sure that there is no further spread and to allow for the National Microbiology Laboratory time to process the test.
Russell also provided more information on a new pilot program that the province will conduct with J.D. Irving, in response to an outbreak at one of the company’s sawmills in Saint-Léonard.
Health officials declared the outbreak on Wednesday after five COVID-19 cases were confirmed at the location.
Russell said officials are conducting contact tracing and public health is collaborating with J.D. Irving, to offer testing for workers on day 1, 7 and 14 of their self-isolation periods.
Each worker will be double swabbed with one of the swabs being used for a rapid-screening test and the second being used on a regular PCR test.
If any of the rapid tests come back as positive they will get another PCR test to confirm.
Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said she’s hopeful the province can return to the “yellow” pandemic-alert level and that the Atlantic travel bubble will be able to reopen. The bubble had allowed free travel between the four Atlantic provinces for the region’s residents.
“Health zones will have to remain in the orange level for at least two or three weeks, giving the province time to stabilize the number of COVID-19 cases before we can consider the possibility of moving to yellow,” Shephard said.
But the minister warned the situation is still precarious and one wrong move could result in an increase in the number of cases.
Health officials reported only two more cases of the virus on Thursday.
One is located in the Moncton region while the other is located in the Edmundston area.
There are now 161 active cases in the province and six people in hospital with the disease, including two in intensive care.
The Edmundston region remains at the “red” pandemic-alert level, while the rest of the province is at the lower, “orange” level
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