New Brunswick records its highest number of active COVID-19 cases

New Brunswick reported 23 new cases of COVID-19 in the province on Thursday, January 14, 2021. There have been a surge in cases after the holiday season in almost all health zones in the province, with 246 active cases.

“Right now, we are seeing our highest number of active cases to date,” said Premier Blaine Higgs at the a press conference in Fredericton. “This should serve as a wakeup call to New Brunswickers. This situation is concerning, and we all have to work together to get our province back on track.”

Right now, 1862 New Brunswickers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and vaccine clinic continue to make progress across the province. A shipment of Moderna vaccine arrived in the province today and will be used to vaccinate residents and staff of eight long-term care facilities in the coming days. Additional doses of Pfizer-BioNTech arrived earlier this week, which will be used at vaccination clinics this weekend in Campbellton, Edmundston, Fredericton and Saint John for members of priority groups, such as staff at regional health authorities, the Extra-Mural Program, Ambulance New Brunswick, and health-care workers at First Nations communities. Despite ongoing efforts to vaccinate New Brunswickers, the majority of the province will not be vaccinated for months and therefore we must all remain vigilant in our efforts to stop the spread of the virus.

“To prevent a surge of COVID-19 cases from happening in New Brunswick, we all must take the simple actions that prevent the spread of the virus, such as wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance and reducing our number of close contacts,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “In Orange level of recovery, we all must stay within our single household bubble and we should have no contact with anyone else within two metres without wearing a mask.”