N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 52 new cases, nursing home booster vaccine doses complete

New Brunswick reported 52new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and has completed the rollout ofvaccine booster doses for nursing home residents.

The process is 82 per cent complete at adult residential facilities such as special care homes andwill be done by the end of the month, according to a news release from Public Health.

The total number of long-term care residents who have received the booster or opted out is not provided. Department of Health officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

"We know residents of these facilities are more vulnerable to COVID-19 if they catch it," Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, said in a statement. "By providing boosters to these residents, we can improve their protection and reduce the risk of them being hospitalized or becoming severely ill."

Health Minister Dorothy Shephard said the province has administered27,884 booster shots since Sept. 24.

"That's going to include long-term care, First Nations and immunocompromised and medical professional staff who receive their vaccinations early," she said. "So they're really doing a great job getting those out."

Sixteenpeople are in hospital because of the virus, down from 17, including 10in intensive care, an increase of one.

There are now 523 active cases across the province, up from 504.

The continued increase in cases inthe Moncton region, Zone 1, which has been under a circuit breaker since Oct. 8 and recorded 27 new cases Tuesday,is "concerning," said Russell.

"The circuit breaker measures work, but only if everyone follows them," she said. "I encourage people in this region and across the province to do everything within their power to protect themselves and their loved ones."

A circuit breaker limitsprivate gatherings and bans non-essential travel to other areasto further limit the spread of the virus and keep more people out of hospital.

The circuit breaker, which is expected to continue until at least Friday at 6 p.m., coversZone 1as far north as, and including, Sainte-Anne-de-Kent and a large section of the Saint John region, Zone 2, including New River Beach and Lepreau, north to the communities of Clarendon and Welsford, east to the community of Head of Millstream, and all of the communities in Saint John and Kings counties.

Liberal Leader Roger Melansonquestioned Tuesday whether the circuit breaker in Zone 1 is working, citing thehigh daily case counts.

"I've actually asked Public Health to dive deeper into the situation over there," he told reporters.

"It's worrisome. We all want to have a Christmas, and we all want to have a Christmas with more [than]just the people living in our household. And Christmas is not that far away. So I'm asking the peopleall over New Brunswick, but certainly people living in zone one, please respect the guidelines."

Although Melanson quit the COVID-19 all-party cabinet committee last Friday over the government's decision to force striking CUPE health-care workers back to work, he said he's not worried about notbeing part of the discussions or knowing the plans in the future.

"I certainly have a responsibility as the leader of the Opposition to make suggestions and ask questions. Now I feel much more, I guess, freer to do that as I'm not confined to any confidentiality."

Green Party Leader David Coon also called on Public Health to take additional steps to reduce transmissions in Zone 1, saying the circuit breaker is"absolutely not working."

He noted the original reduction in cases flattened out and the number has not gone down any further. In fact, it has gone back up, he told reporters, calling it "very serious."

While circuit breakers worked in the Upper River Valley, Edmundston and Campbelltonareas, there's "something fundamentally different going on in Monctonthat needs to be addressed," Coon said.

He suggested part of the problem might be that some of the measures "just don't meet the straight-face test for regular people. They go, 'Some of these things don't make sense to us.' And so you're getting lots of spread in households and between households."

The minister confirmed most spread in the provinceis occurring within households and to contacts of thosehouseholds.

"They're our biggest numbers," said Shephard. "We're not seeing spread now in restaurants. We're not seeing it at the hockey arena. We're seeing it in households. So we really need for people to keep their contacts as low as possible. That's the real secret to getting it under control."

She could not say whether the spread in the Moncton region indicates people are not following the limited contact rules. "Perhaps. I really have to ask Public Safety for an update on that."

All we can do is just try to keep asking the public for their co-operation inhelping us beat this back.- Dorothy Shephard, health minister

The province is "trying very hard" to educate people about the measures in place, she said.

"All we can do is just try to keep asking the public for their co-operation inhelping us beat this back."

Health officials will have more to say later this week about whether a circuit breaker might be needed in the Miramichi region, Zone 7, said Shephard.

Rising case counts there have been "highly contained" to two different groups, she said, identifying one of them asthe shelter. A department spokesperson has previously said there is also an outbreak atNelson Rural School.

Public Health felt they had both outbreaks "well under control," said Shephard.

"So what we're waiting for with Miramichi is to see if there was more community spread than anticipated and we'll have updates on that this week."

Last Thursday, Russell said a circuit breaker for the region might soon be required ifa recent "spike" in casesdoesn't stabilize.

Breakdown of new cases

The 52 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed Tuesday are spread across four regions. Theyinclude:

Moncton region, Zone 1, 27 cases:

• 10 people 19 or under
• Three people 20 to 29
• Six people 30 to 39
• Three people 40 to 49
• Two people 50 to 59
• Two people 60 to 69
• A person 70 to 79

Twenty-threeof these cases are under investigation and four cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases.

Saint John region, Zone 2, ninecases:

• Two people 19 orunder
• A person 20 to 29
• A person 30 to 39
• Two people 40 to 49
• A person 50 to 59
• Two people 60 to 69

Fiveof these cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases and four are under investigation.

Fredericton region, Zone 3, eightcases:

• Two people 19 orunder
• Two people 20 to 29
• Three people 30 to 39
• A person 40 to 49

Six of these cases are under investigation and two are contacts of previously confirmed cases.

Miramichi region, Zone 7, eightcases:

• A person 19 or under
• A person 20 to 29
• Three people 30 to 39
• Two people 50 to 59
• A person 80 to 89

Four of these cases are contacts of previously confirmed cases and four are under investigation.

A total of 86.1per cent of New Brunswickers 12 or older are fully vaccinated, up from 86 per cent, and 92.9 per cent have received their first vaccine dose, unchanged for the third straight day.

Of the new cases, 34 people, or 65 per cent,are unvaccinated, one person,or two per cent, is partially vaccinated, and 17 people, or 33 per cent, are fully vaccinated.

Of the 16 people in hospital, 13 are unvaccinated and three are fully vaccinated.

Of the 10in ICU,nine are unvaccinated and one is fully vaccinated.

New Brunswick has had 6,865confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with 6,220recoveries so far and 121 COVID-related deaths.

A totalof 532,024 lab tests have been conducted, including 1,304 on Monday.

On Monday, 2,540 rapid test kits were distributed. A list of pickup sites and their hours of operation is available online.

Province included GeneXpert tests in daily total amid strike concerns

The province included GeneXpert COVID-19 tests in the daily total last week for the first time during the pandemic after the CUPE strike brought down the numbers and provoked concerns about the accuracy of case data.

Department of Health spokesperson Gail Harding confirmedGeneXpert tests, which are conducted at regional hospital laboratories and provide rapid results,have never been part of the COVID-19 dashboardtesting totals.

More GeneXpert testing was conducted, however, to compensate for strike-relatedreduced capacity at the province's microbiologylab attheDr. Georges-L-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton,the department said.

Last Thursday,Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell was askedduring the COVID briefing whether she was concernedPublic Health might be missing a significant number of positive cases by not testing at the province'sfull capacity. She replied that727 tests were conducted the previous day.

In addition to the 300 polymerase chain reaction, or PCR,tests, conducted at the Dumont lab and reflected onthe COVID-19 dashboard,there were 427GeneXperttests, "which are also PCR," she said, without elaborating.

CBC immediately sought clarification and got some informationthis week.

"The results collected by GeneXpert testing are not recorded on the COVID-19 dashboard," Harding said in an emailed statement.

They have never been, she said.

GeneXpert COVID-19 testing has been conducted in New Brunswick since April 2020.

It can produce results inabout 45 minutes instead of the Dumont labtaking between 24 and 48 hours, but is still "considereddiagnostic and confirmatory," said Harding.

"GeneXpert testing is typically reserved for situations in which an immediate result is required to inform a medical decision," said Department of Health spokesperson Bruce Macfarlane.

"As an example, GeneXpert tests are used for patients requiring immediate or emergency surgery, or to help inform medical officers of health in potential outbreak investigations," he said in an emailed statement.

"As a result of the labour dispute, GeneXpert testing was used to add diagnostic testing to supplement our surveillance and monitoring capacity. Utilizing GeneXpert as diagnostic testing helped to fill in the gaps created by reduced human resource capacity, which in turn prompted the reference by the premier and Dr. Russell last week."

Asked how many GeneXpert tests are normally conducted atHorizon and Vitalithospital labs in Edmundston, Campbellton, Bathurst, Miramichi, Moncton, Fredericton and Saint John, Macfarlane said, "Numbers range greatly on a daily basis according to need."

In May 2020, the seven labs had a combined capacity of about 200 tests a day, Dr. John Dornan, now interim president and CEO of Horizon, had said.

Before the CUPE strike, now into Day 12,more than 1,000 PCR tests were being conducted daily, but the daily totals dropped to a few hundred.

Last Tuesday, Premier Blaine Higgsexpressed concern to reporters over the reliability of the new COVID-19 cases data, given the impact of the CUPE strike on testing.

"We've asked Health to follow up on that becauseIthink, you know,there's a concern thereof, do we have the level of testing required to confirm that there's 40 cases?"

That same day Public Health announced four priority groups for PCR testing because of the impact of the strike:

• Those working and living in vulnerable settings, such as a hospital, long-term care home, or shelter
• Those prioritized by a medical officer of health
• Anyone who is symptomatic, with priority given to those who are unvaccinated
• Those who require testing for travel, although with no guarantee of a 72-hour turnaround for test results

Horizon also closed its testing centres inthe Moncton, Saint Johnand Fredericton regions that day. Its Miramichi centre continued to operateat reduced capacity.

The following day, Higgstold reporters, "Our testing is down a bit. So yes, it's a concern.

"However, I'm assured by the medical authorities that we are up today," he said, citing between 800 and 900 tests instead of the 269 the dashboard showed.

Last Friday, the province ordered striking health-care workers back to work. Those mandatedbackinclude more than2,000 workers in locals1252, 1190 and 1251, which represent support staff in vaccinationclinics and hospitals, and those providing laundry services to hospitals and nursing homes.

Strike action by those not affected by the order continues. This includes about 20,000 workers in the education, transportation and agricultural sectors, as well as social workers, correctional officers, court stenographersand staff at WorkSafeNB and New Brunswick community colleges.

Neither the Department of Health nor Horizon officials have said how many people are waiting for COVID-19 tests.

But on Monday, Horizon spokesperson Kris McDavid said"any remaining backlog in testing capacity is anticipated to be cleared up within the next day or two."

Harding said "operations should be back to normal shortly."

The criteria for GeneXpert tests hasreverted back to pre-strike conditions, said Macfarlane.

The faster testresults cost more than the Dumont lab, Dornantold CBC last year, although he couldn't say how much either analysis cost.

Horizon and Vitalitdirected inquiries about costs Tuesday to the Department of Health.

Macfarlane directed inquiries back to the regional health authorities.

Workplace transmissions

WorkSafeNBhas declined to identify the three workplaces where "almost 30" cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in recent weeks.

"We are unable to identify the employers," spokespersonLaragh Dooley said in an emailed statement.

The Crown corporation reported an increase in workplace COVID-19 transmissions last Friday.

"In recent weeks, Public Health has confirmed COVID-19 cases transmitted through workplace exposures. These include workplaces in health care, long-term care, education, childcare facilities, construction and manufacturing," it said in a statement to employers.

"There have been almost 30 cases associated with just three workplaces and the number continues to rise as case investigations continue."

Asked what WorkSafeNB is doing to address the situation, Dooley said officers areinspecting the specific workplaces identified by Public Health.

The Crown corporation isalso "reaching out to specific sector partners to ensure they are communicating with their members about the concerns," she said, citing the New Brunswick Construction Safety Association as anexample.

"Officers were already, and will continue to, talk about the matter whenever they have the opportunity during contact with workplaces," Dooley added.

No new cases in schools

No new cases of COVID-19 were reported at any schools on Tuesday, according to the COVID-19 dashboard.

The last time no new cases were identified was Sunday, said Department of Education spokesperson Danielle Elliott. Prior to that, she could not immediately say.

All schools moved to online learning last week because of the CUPE strike. Students will continue to learn from home until the strike is over, the government has said.

Thirty-two schools are still actively affected, the dashboard shows.

A total of 453 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed at 122 schools since the beginning of the school year.

Since Sept. 7, there have been confirmed COVID cases at 68 early learning and child-care centres.The total number of cases has not been released.

Atlantic COVID roundup

Nova Scotiareportedone new COVID-related death and56new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the active caseload to 281.There are 10 people in hospital with COVID-19, including twoin intensive care.

Newfoundland and Labradorreportednine new cases Monday in its firstupdate since before the weekend. The province has36 active cases and one personin hospital.

Prince Edward Islandannounced four new cases on Sunday, and has seven active cases.

Public exposure notices

Public Health has posted new public exposures Tuesday, including a gym in the Fredericton region, Zone 3, and a pub in the Miramichi region, Zone 7.

For the full list of new and previous public exposure notices, please visit thegovernment of New Brunswick's website.

People who have not been fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to a possible exposure and who have symptoms should still get aCOVIDlab test. They can book an appointmentonlineor callTele-Care 811 and mustisolate while waiting for theirtest result.

People who are not fully vaccinated and do not have symptoms, are now being instructed topick up anAt-Home COVID-19 Rapid Point of Care Test(RapidPOCT) screening kit. They do not need to isolate if theyhave not been directed by Public Health to do so.

All positive point of care test results must be confirmed with a laboratorypolymerase chain reaction, orPCRtest.

It can take up to 14 days to test positive after being exposed to COVID-19 so even if their results comes back negative, they should continue to self-monitorfor any symptoms and get tested immediately if any develop.

They should also avoid visiting settings with vulnerable populations, such as nursing homes, correctional facilities and shelters during that 14-day period.

For people who have beenfully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to a possible exposure, Public Health recommends they monitor for symptoms for 14 days after the possible exposure and get aCOVIDlab test if symptoms develop.

They do not need to isolate while they waitfor their test results.

If they do not have symptoms, they can pick up a rapid test kit and do not need to isolate.

What to do if you have a symptom

People concerned they might have COVID-19 cantake a self-assessment test online.

Public Health says symptoms of the illness have included a fever above 38 C, a new or worsening cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, a new onset of fatigue, and difficulty breathing.

In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.

People with one of those symptoms should stay at home, call 811 or their doctor and follow instructions.