New Brunswick is reporting five deaths on Wednesday, bringing the province’s total number of COVID-19 -related deaths to 99.
The deaths involve a person 90 and over in Zone 1 (Moncton region). a person in their 80s in Zone 5 (Campbellton region) and three people in their 60s — one in Zone 4 (Edmundston region) and two in Zone 6 (Bathurst region).
Meanwhile, the number of active cases in the province is on the decline. Public Health is reporting 69 new cases and 77 recoveries, bringing the active case count to 761.
Of the new cases, 35 are unvaccinated, four are partially vaccinated and 30 are fully vaccinated.
The province points out that the majority of cases in the ICU involve unvaccinated patients. There are 16 people in an intensive care unit — 14 of whom are unvaccinated.
Of the 55 people hospitalized due to COVID-19, 27 are unvaccinated, four are partially vaccinated and 24 are fully vaccinated.
The province notes that two people aged 19 and under are now in hospital.
The most recent data shows 82.9 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 91.8 per cent have received their first dose of a vaccine.
Beginning next week, health-care personnel and residents of First Nations communities in the province will be ale to receive a mRNA COVID_19 booster dose if six months have passed since their second dose.
Provincial Rapid Outbreak Management Team
The Provincial Rapid Management Team, which is led by Extra-Mural/Ambulance New Brunswick, is now activated at 23 locations.
The team provides “various levels of assistance depending on the requirements of each location.”
An outbreak has been declared at 11 of those 23 sites, which includes nursing homes, long-term care facilities, and rooming houses.
The outbreaks are located at:
- Drew Nursing Home in Sackville (Zone 1)
- Woodstone Residence in Moncton (Zone 1)
- House of Nazareth in Moncton (Zone 1)
- Résidence du Marais in Dieppe (Zone 1)
- Manoir Saint-Jean Baptiste in Bouctouche (Zone 1)
- The Crossing in Saint John (Zone 2)
- Maison du Bonheur in Edmundston (Zone 4)
- Foyer la Renaissance in Sainte-Anne-de-Madawaska (Zone 4)
- Agence Résidentielle Restigouche in Campbellton (Zone 5)
- Dalhousie Nursing Home (Villa Renaissance) in Dalhousie (Zone 5)
- Losier Hall in Miramichi (Zone 7)
The other 12 activation sites are:
- Southeast Regional Correctional Centre in Shediac (Zone 1)
- Jordan Life Care Centre in Salisbury (Zone 1)
- B&B Balanced Wellness Centre in Moncton (Zone 1)
- T.J. Maillet Residences in Cocagne (Zone 1)
- Community Residential Living Board in Woodstock (Zone 3)
- Madawaska Regional Correctional Centre in Saint-Hilaire (Zone 4)
- Villa Cayouette in Saint-Quentin (Zone 4)
- Au petit domaine de L’Assomption in Saint-Quentin (Zone 4)
- Foyer Ste-Élizabeth in Baker Brook (Zone 4)
- Foyer Notre-Dame de Saint-Léonard in Saint-Léonard (Zone 4)
- Résidence 4 Saisons in Balmoral (Zone 5)
- Royal Residence in Bathurst (Zone 6)
Cynthia Miller, a retired licensed practical nurse (LPN) in Dalhousie, N.B., says nursing staff there are standing on their last leg. Dalhousie has been a hotspot for COVID-19 cases and deaths.
“I’m not a political person, I’m just somebody who cares, but I’ve never seen anything like this,” she said.
“Everybody knows a worker in there. You know, we’re a small town, we know everybody. When they’re hurting we’re all hurting.”
Earlier this week, advocates made a call for greater transparency on the nursing home situation, saying the public deserves to know the seriousness of the fourth wave.
Social Development Minister Bruce Fitch argues that government has been transparent.
“I think there has been a significant amount of transparency and I know there was some specific calls with respect to the nursing home in Sackville that unfortunately did experience a high number of deaths and our sympathies and condolences to the families,” he said.
“We as a department work with public health and make sure that the information goes out publicly and again respond to media request as needed.”
The province says if there are two or more lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 where transmission within the facility cannot be ruled out, an outbreak will be declared.
— With files from Nathalie Sturgeon
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