Health Department cancels Q&A session with public about COVID-19

New Brunswick's Department of Health has cancelled a Q&A with CBC New Brunswick that was supposed to answeryour the public's questions related to COVID-19.

TheQ&A today was supposed to be with Jennifer Russell, the chief medical officer of health, at 12:30 p.m.

In cancelling Russell's appearance with the public, Danielle Phillips, the spokesperson, said the "situation is fluid." She did not elaborate when she announced the decision shortly before the session was to begin.

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The Q&A was supposed to run for about an hour, allowing the public to ask any questions they had about the virus.

The New Brunswick Health Department announcedthe province'sfirst case of COVID-19 this week.

The first"presumptive" or probable case of the novel coronaviruswas reported Wednesday,and testing at a Winnipeg lab has confirmed the test was positive.

Twelve people in New Brunswick have had negative tests so far, and only people with symptoms are being tested.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says the risk associated with COVID-19 is low for the general population, but they note that could change quickly.

People who are over 65, have a compromised immune system or underlying health conditions face a higher risk of "more severe outcomes" if they contract the virus which the WHO says is mild for most who get it.

As of early Friday morning, provinces in Canada were reporting almost 160 presumptive and confirmed cases.