New Brunswick on Tuesday reported six new cases of COVID-19, including one at a special-care home in Campbellton, close to the Quebec border.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, said despite just one case reported at the 45-bed Manoir de la Sagesse, authorities are declaring an “outbreak.”
“Because it’s a vulnerable population, we have to declare an outbreak based on the public health risk assessment,” she told reporters, adding residents in that home are in shared rooms.
She said health authorities are conducting “mass testing” of residents and staff, who she said will be tested every couple of days. “We will continue to do that testing and as cases are identified, their close contacts will be contacted and isolated.”
The outbreak comes as public health officials are still scrambling to contain an outbreak at the Notre-Dame Manor special-care home in Moncton, which is tied to at least 19 cases of COVID-19.
Five of the cases announced Tuesday are in the Campbellton health region and involve two people in their 60s, one person in their 50s, someone in their 30s and a person under the age of 19, Russell said.
The sixth case reported Tuesday is located in the Moncton area and involves a person in their 70s.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy said a new case is tied to Dalhousie Regional High School, the fourth case identified at a New Brunswick school in the past six days.
The province has 82 active cases, with five people in hospital, including one patient in intensive care.
Health officials in the other Atlantic provinces are monitoring developments in New Brunswick, which is part of the so-called Atlantic bubble, inside which residents can travel without restrictions.
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil told reporters Tuesday he was expecting a brief from Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, later in the day. “We’ll wait and see what the details are.”
Newly appointed Health Minister Leo Glavine said he hopes Nova Scotia stays in the Atlantic bubble. The province has four active cases of COVID-19.
Dr. Heather Morrison, chief medical officer of health in Prince Edward Island, urged Islanders Tuesday to avoid non-essential travel to the regions in New Brunswick hard-hit by COVID-19. Newfoundland and Labrador issued a statement on Sunday urging residents to do the same.
There are nine reported active cases of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador and three in Prince Edward Island.
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