All health zones in New Brunswick will move to the Orange level under its COVID-19 recovery plan, effective January 6, 2021. Public Health recommended for the move due to the doubling of cases in less than six days and announced the decision at a press conference in Fredericton.

“We have been successful throughout the pandemic because we have been aggressive when needed,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, a press conference on Tuesday, January 5. “Despite our efforts to inform New Brunswickers about following public health guidance measures during the holidays, we have seen case numbers doubling in some areas and have learned of examples where people did not follow the self-isolation guidelines. There is a risk of our health-care system being overwhelmed quickly which is why this type of action is required.”

Premier Blaine Higgs said that, along with an alarming rise in case counts, there were also reports of situations where some people were not complying with public health measures.

“In spite of aggressive messaging prior to and during the holiday season, we knew that some would selfishly ignore the rules,” said Premier Higgs. “There is a risk that our health-care system could be faced with hundreds of new cases each day and would quickly be overwhelmed. We must act swiftly and decisively to ensure that does not happen.”

Dr. Russell reminded New Brunswickers who were out of province over the holiday period and are now quarantining that self-isolation means staying at home and avoiding all contact with other people to help prevent the spread of disease to others in your home and community.

“It is imperative that if you have travelled you must self-isolate for a full 14 days and avoid contact with other people to help prevent transmission of the virus prior to developing symptoms or at the earliest stage of illness,” said Dr. Russell.