2 Employees at Cold-Storage Plant in Bayside, New Brunswick Test Positive for COVID-19

Two employees at a cold-storage plant in Bayside tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday. All other employees of Kloosterboer Bayside have since tested negative for COVID-19 and extensive contact tracing continues to be done by Public Health, general manager Manuel Estrada told CHCO. The plant was professionally cleaned on Monday and is now operating with a minimal staff. At a press conference on Tuesday, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell said Public Health still hasn't determined where the two employees at the plant contracted the virus but said, "The cases aren't a variant of concern. 

On the weekend, Public Health also released exposure notifications for different locations across Charlotte County including a restaurant in St. George. Currently all staff of the restaurant have tested negative. 

At the Tuesday press conference, Dr. Russell and Education Minister Dominic Cardy also announced the New Brunswickers age 50 and over are now eligible for the vaccine.

“Due to the large influx of vaccines expected over the coming weeks, we are able to open eligibility by 10 years to those 50-59, and also begin vaccinating those 16 and older with two chronic conditions,” said Minister Cardy. “This is an important step forward in our vaccine rollout and will help protect vulnerable young New Brunswickers.”

“Whether you are booking through a pharmacy or at a clinic offered by a regional health authority, please be patient,” said Dr. Russell. “We expect a high volume of traffic for bookings online and on the toll-free line. Everyone is working hard to ensure eligible New Brunswickers are vaccinated in a timely and efficient manner.”

The May 10th municipal election date is drawing near, but many New Brunswickers across the province took advantage of advance polls on May 1 and 3rd. 57,300 New Brunswickers voted on Saturday and Monday. That's a 20% increase over the two day total in 2016.