Masking still a choice, but risk of COVID-19 reinfection is real, says Russell
CBC
Three months after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted in New Brunswick, masks are becoming an increasingly rare sight in both indoor and outdoor public spaces.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell says her advice on masking hasn't changed.
"I continue to recommend that again, if you want to decrease your risks, then you can wear a mask. It's your choice."
But Russell did say people need to be aware they can be reinfected.
"We are seeing reinfections. Not a lot, but we are seeing reinfections, because it is physically possible to get reinfected with COVID, there's no question," she said.
Russell cited the example of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is fully vaccinated and has tested positive for the second time this year. Trudeau previously tested positive in January.
"The risk is never zero," she stressed.
"Some people think that window is higher after the three-month mark, but it is possible to get reinfected even within that three months."
There are at least 11 Omicron subvariants in New Brunswick now, including BA.4 and BA.5, which the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control upgraded last month to variants of concern.
The European agency said the growth of BA.4 and BA.5 is "likely due to their ability to evade immune protection induced by prior infection and/or vaccination, particularly if this has waned over time."
There is currently no indication they are more severe than previous Omicron subvariants, it said.
The Omicron subvariants confirmed in New Brunswick include:
People choose to mask or not based on a variety of factors, such as whether they've had COVID, or it's been more than three months since they've had COVID, whether they're vaccinated or not, and whether they have people at home who are immunocompromised or who can't get vaccinated, said Russell.
"So everybody will have many different reasons for that. And obviously, that is a personal choice."
The Salvation Army can't fundraise in the Avalon Mall after this year. It all comes down to religion
This is the last Christmas season the Salvation Army's annual kettle campaign will be allowed in the Avalon Mall in St. John's, ending a decades-long tradition.
The province and district social services administration boards say plans are in place to ensure people on social assistance do not miss out on benefits as a result of the strike by Canada Post employees.
Near the exit to Truro, N.S., a cluster of colorful tents and a lone RV can be seen alongside Highway 102, some tucked under the overpass for shelter from the elements.
Police and Public Trust, a project of the CBC News Atlantic investigative unit, scrutinizes the largely off-limits police complaint and discipline systems across the region. Journalists are using access to information laws and, in some cases, court challenges to obtain discipline records and data.
Toronto police have arrested a GTA woman who they allege scammed dozens of Taylor Swift fans out of more than $70,000 by promising them tickets that never materialized.
Montreal was, in years past, considered a haven for renters. But those days are long gone.
WARNING: This story details violent events surrounding a fatal police shooting.
It took Gordon Frentz over 14 hours to drive through the snow from Grande Prairie, Alta., this past weekend to compete at this year's Canadian Western Agribition in Regina.
The coroner's inquest into the drug-related deaths of six men in custody at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre will revisit 2018 recommendations relating to eight other inmate deaths to determine what's been done to implement them, the inquest's lawyer said Monday on the first day of hearings.
Emily Walstrom was expecting to lay her father to rest this month, but instead, she says his cremated remains are stuck in a Canada Post facility in B.C., delayed by the ongoing national postal strike.
A Friday night fire hasn't caused any impact to operations at the Dryden mill, the company said.