New Brunswick records new death and 7 new cases of COVID-19

New Brunswick reported seven new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and its 34th death related to the disease.

Three of the new cases were in the Edmundston region, Zone 4, two are in the Saint John region, Zone 2, and there is one each in the Moncton and Miramichi regions, Zones 1 and 7.

The person who died was someone in their 60s in the Saint John region.

There are now 138 active cases in the province and 15 residents are in hospital, with five in ICU.

As well, pregnant New Brunswickers are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccination in the province.

Before Wednesday, they only qualified if they had two or more chronic medical conditions. Appointments can be booked online or by calling 1-833-437-1424.

On Tuesday, the province announced no new cases for the first time in more than a month. But the decline in numbers isn’t enough to take Zone 4, the Edmundston area, out of lockdown, where it’s been for the last two weeks.

The province also announced Tuesday that they had their first case of a blood clot linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell said the person has since recovered and cases of blood clots linked to the vaccine are “extremely rare.”

“We see them in approximately one in every 100,000-250,000 doses, but they do happen and they are treatable,” she said.

— With files from Travis Fortnum and Karla Renic.