New Brunswick expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to everyone 18 and up

New Brunswick announced that people 18 and older may now schedule an appointment online to receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, said at the COVID-19 briefing that the vaccination campaign against COVID-19 is a “phenomenal success.”

“New Brunswick is setting and breaking records each week for the number of appointments booked and vaccines administered,” said Russell.

She also said that by by the end of this week, at least 50 per cent of the population will have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

READ MORE: COVID-19: 11 new cases reported in New Brunswick, including another at high school

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy noted that the department is currently working on a vaccine roll-out plan for those 12 and older.

“Our goal is to make this process as easy as possible for families. By working together and getting vaccinated as soon as we can, we can help keep our schools healthy and safe as we get ready for a new year,” said Cardy.

0:41 New Brunswick expands COVID-19 vaccine eligibility to individuals 18+

New cases and one death

New Brunswick reported the death of an individual in their 70s in Zone 4 (Edmundston region) due to COVID-19.

The person was a resident of Pavillon Beau-Lieu, a special care home in Grand Falls, and passed away in hospital.

The province also reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Nine cases are in Zone 3 (Fredericton region). Five of these cases are contacts of previously-confirmed cases, two are related to travel and the remaining two are under investigation.

There’s one case in Zone 6 (Bathurst region) and is related to travel.

1:43 New Brunwick MLAs may have been exposed to COVID-19 during last in-person legislative sitting

The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick is 2,083. Since Monday, six people have recovered for a total of 1,919 recoveries.

There have been 42 deaths, and the number of active cases is 121. Nine patients are hospitalized in total.

Five patients are hospitalized in New Brunswick, including two in an intensive care unit. Four patients are hospitalized out of province, with one in an intensive care unit.

On Monday, 1,385 tests were conducted for a total of 316,499.

Confirmed cases at school and child-care

Public health has confirmed a positive case of COVID-19 at New Maryland Elementary School on May 17, which was closed as of Tuesday.

Students will learn from home on Wednesday and Thursday.

Another case was also confirmed at the New Maryland Kidz Klub on May 17 and affected families were notified that evening. The child-care facility will be closed for the next three days.