News Highlights for Southwest New Brunswick: February 23, 2021

Mount Allison University biology professor Dr. Vett Lloyd is spearheading a national research project studying long haul COVID-19 patients. The study is the first of its kind in New Brunswick and aims to collect data from people across Canada who've technically recovered from COVID-19 but who are still experiencing long-term side effects from having the virus. 

Emily Bodechon, a health-care worker from Quispamsis who was diagnosed with COVID-19 in March of 2020, is one of the patients participating in the study who is still experiencing serious health problems almost a year after contracting the virus. 

Both Bodechon and Dr. Lloyd appear on an all-new episode of Southwest Magazine on CHCO-TV all this week.

Minister of Health Dorothy Shephard unveiled a five-year action plan on Tuesday aimed at addressing the increasing demand for addiction and mental health services in New Brunswick. The plan is intended to increase access to specialized services and will include the implementation of 14 walk-in addiction and mental health clinics across the province this year. The first of the new walk-in mental health clinics has been operating in Campbellton for the last 8-weeks and is already showing promising results.

"The Campbellton clinic is a demonstration model. In the first six weeks of operation, they received 97 walk-in visits. 94% of those visits were satisfied with their first visit and received the proper guidance they needed for the next step in their mental health journey. The wait list of 37 people was eliminated because of this," said Shephard. 

New Brunswick's annual Tourism Indicators report was released earlier this month, and provides concrete data that backs up what many of us already knew: that the province's tourism industry experienced a steep decline in 2020 thanks to COVID-19. Although losses in the tourism industry were felt across the province, some vacation hotspots like Kingsbrae Garden in St. Andrews faired better than others. Of the 13 attractions examined closely in the report, Kinsgbrae came out on top, with only a 14% decrease in visitors last year. 

Finally, Sir James Dunn Academy started a new tradition last year of hosting a student talent showcase in the high school's newly updated theatre. Although COVID-19 has made having an in-person audience impossible this year, students decided to turn the showcase into a virtual experience by recording their performances and art work.