N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Province drops proof of vaccination rule, some businesses might not
CBC
New Brunswick businesses and organizations are no longer required to enforce proof of COVID-19 vaccination for entry.
The change in restrictions took effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday and includes restaurants, gyms, salons, spas, entertainment centres and faith venues.
But some businesses are keeping the proof-of-vaccination requirement, according to David Duplisea, CEO of the Saint John Region Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber has launched an online poll to determine business reopening plans.
"There are mixed opinions and feelings on how businesses plan to reopen and return to more normal times," Duplisea said in a statement. "Some plan to continue with limited safety protocols and others plan to eliminate them all together.
"This poll will help us to better understand where the business community stands as they work to balance employee and customer safety with a viable business model."
The four-question poll asks businesses if they plan to continue with safety protocols, and if so, which ones — proof of vaccination, masks, safe distance, COVID testing, or all of the above.
It asks which sector or industry they belong to, such as hospitality, restaurants and tourism; retail; general business, or "other."
And it asks about their "staffing protocols," whether people work from home, in the office, or a hybrid.
The poll will continue until March 14.
New Brunswick introduced the proof of COVID-19 vaccination requirement in September 2021 during a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations caused by the Delta variant.
With the end of the mandatory order, the province is set to lift all other COVID-19 restrictions by March 14, including mask mandates, gathering limits and isolation requirements.
The province recorded another COVID-related death on Friday, and 72 people were in hospital, including 42 for COVID-19 and 30 who were admitted for something else when they tested positive for the virus.
Three people were in intensive care, including two on ventilators.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Beverly Glover has been selling fruitcakes and other confections at holiday markets across Calgary for eight years.
The Nature Conservancy of Canada says more bird species are choosing to spend their winters on P.E.I. — but with less forest cover, they may need some help to make it through until spring.
A plan by the province to mandate that Ontario school boards establish special support offices for students and families is drawing skepticism from some local trustees sidelined by the Ford government.
A man is dead after he drove the wrong way down Sarcee Trail Friday night and hit two other vehicles, Calgary police say.
In the wake of this summer's devastating wildfires, protesters are calling for the province to take climate change seriously, with more definitive action.
A physician recruiter from a small francophone community in northeastern Ontario says she’s already fielding calls from Quebec doctors who want to leave the province.
The IWK Foundation is calling on the federal government to create a national chair who will focus on women's health.
A temporary zoning change to allow up to 40 modular housing units on the former Smurfit-Stone property in Bathurst has been approved by the city's planning advisory committee.
The owners of a mansion in Toronto's Rosedale neighbourhood are being ordered to tear down a wall built around part of their property — less than a year after the city gave them a permit to build it.
The union representing firefighters in Winnipeg isn't satisfied with plans aimed at decreasing strain on the department outlined in the City of Winnipeg’s preliminary budget for 2026.
A century-old Inuvialuit kayak once used for beluga and whale hunts, along with 61 other cultural objects from First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities long held in Vatican Museums vaults, will return to Canada on Dec. 6.
The head of Alberta's tuberculosis clinic says an outbreak in Edmonton's inner city is of little risk to Edmontonians at large.
When Donna Vasallo lost her housing on Salt Spring Island, the mother of two figured she would have to leave the island – until Country Grocer, where she works, offered shelter for her family in a two-bedroom trailer.