N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Parts of Miramichi health zone going into circuit breaker
CBC
Thanks to a sharp increase in cases in the Miramichi area, most of Zone 7 will begin circuit breaker measures at 6 p.m. on Friday.
There are a couple of areas that are exempt from the restrictions — Black River Bridge and communities to the east; Murray Settlement and areas south; and New Jersey and communities north.
Zone 2, the Saint John area, meanwhile will emerge from its circuit breaker on Friday at 6 p.m.
Zone 1's circuit breaker will continue for another week, but only in Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province's chief medical officer of health, said circuit-breaker measures have proven effective in most areas.
"We have seen a decline in the number of new cases across the province, and our active caseload has been reduced by half. Hospitalizations and ICU admissions have also declined," she said during a COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday.
Cases in Zone 7, however, "have risen sharply. And for that reason, it means that we will need a stronger effort to bend this curve."
She said the number of public exposures in Zone 7 is low, relative to the region's active case count, because most transmission is within households.
The same continues to happen in Moncton, Zone 1.
"More than half of the cases we have seen in this area are happening within households," Russell said. "We are seeing the virus spread within families and then spread again through social contacts."
"Now, if everyone was following the circuit breaker restrictions by limiting their close contacts to their immediate household, technically speaking, this outbreak should have been significantly reduced by this point."
Russell said it illustrates how "a small number of people … can impact a larger group and a larger region, a larger zone, and the hospital system in general."
Public Health announced 69 new cases on Wednesday. With 44 recoveries, this brings the total number of active cases to 548.
Hospitalizations are at 17 — up one from the previous day — and one more person is in ICU, for a total of 11.
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