N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Province extends state of emergency, announces no new cases

The province will be extending its state of emergency for another two weeks after no new cases have been found in the province Thursday.

"Both cabinet and the all-party cabinet committee have approved the extension," the province said in a news release issued this afternoon.

The renewed declaration contains a clause to allow drivers who need to renew their Class 5 permit to do it online starting May 21. The current photograph on a valid Class 5 driver's license will be used so that the license can be renewed.

New Brunswick has been under a state of emergency since March 19.

2 active cases of COVID-19 remain

The province has announced no new cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick for eight days straight.

The number of confirmed cases in New Brunswick remains at 120, with two active cases and 118 people who have recovered.

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The two remaining active cases are not in the hospital and are both travelrelated.Asof today, more than 19,300tests have been conducted across New Brunswick.

Premier Blaine Higgs and Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, will provide a news briefing about the virus at 2:30 p.m. Friday.

Province could open borders to Quebec as early as July

If the province can maintain the number of COVID-19 cases in New Brunswick, Premier Blaine Higgs said it could ease border restrictions with Quebec as early as July.

"We should see further opening of activity around the borders to let people get back to what they enjoy," Higgs said during an interview with Quebec Am.

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Quebechas 40,724confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 3,351 people have died.

Higgs has made similar comments with itsneighbouring province of Prince Edward Island, which had 27 cases of COVID-19, all of which have recovered.

The province has restricted entry as part of its efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. Provincial enforcement officers are stationed at seven road crossings and two airports and are turning away anyone considered to be travelling for non-essential reasons.

Higgs has said that the border restrictions will likely be among the last COVID-19 measures to be lifted.

"I know Quebec has been going through a tough time but we don't have the same exposure here in New Brunswick."

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He said New Brunswick has been at an advantage because of its small cities and spaciouspopulation.

"It has worked in our favour."

New Brunswick's 2 national parks remain closed

While many provincial parks and trails will be open for the long weekend in New Brunswick, the province's two national parks Fundy and KouchibouguacNational Parks will remain closed at least until the end of the month, announced Jonathan Wilkinson, the minister responsible for Parks Canada.

He said locations will begin to open gradually, beginning June 1, although most will have reduced services.

All camping facilities, for example, will remain closed until at least June 21.

There's no word yet on which parks will open first, and only those that pose little risk to the public and employees will be allowed to open, said a press release issued on Thursday.

It goes on to say, "for their own safety, Canadians should not try to access locations that are closed."

Wilkinson said parks, trails, historic and other sites will initially only open for "limited visitor day use."

"They will remain closed through the May long weekend while we prepare. Our priority remains the health and safety of Canadians and it will be critical that we all respect the guidance of public health experts, avoid non-essential travel and enjoy these special places responsibly."

So while Fundy and Kouchibouguac national parks will remain closed, several provincial parks are open for business going into the Victoria Day long weekend, including Oak Bay, Mactaquac, New River Beach, and the Fundy Trail Parkway.

Several more will open the following weekend and into June. Most will offer reduced services and many trails are now one way.

Drinking too much during a pandemic

Researchers are looking at whether New Brunswickers are mixing the stress of COVID-19 with alcohol.

Stphane Robichaud, the CEO of the New Brunswick Health Council, said this information is important to know, as previous studies have shown that New Brunswickers drink more alcohol than most Canadians.

"We knew we had an issue with heavy drinking prior to the pandemic," said Robichaud.

NB Liquor reported a 12 per cent increase in sales during the last two weeks of the final quarter last fiscal year, which matches up with the start of restrictions put in place because of the pandemic.

Robichaud said it's natural for people to be more stressed during a pandemic, but alcohol isn't the healthiest outlet.

"Most of us are aware that [alcohol's] not a good thing to abuse," said Robichaud.

Robichaud said the goal isn't to make people feel bad for drinking, or for the way they've been coping with COVID-19. But he also wants to make people aware that consuming alcohol can become a problem if it's not addressed.

"It's not a good idea for alcohol to be the main coping mechanism," said Robichaud.

Fredericton shelter sees jump in usage

Fredericton's out of the cold shelter has seen a jump in usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, with as many as 56 residents living inside the building at onetime.

Joan Kingston,chair of Fredericton's Community Action Group on Homelessness, said many people started using the shelter after losing their jobs during the pandemic.

More people are also coming because previoushousing options became unavailable because of COVID-19.

"They are homeless, but they sometimes have options, Friends that let them stay with them, couch surfing," said Kingston.

"I think that when COVID first started there were many people who were afraid of COVID, and rightly so. And so these opportunities for people to have housing that only lasted for a few days were afraid to have other people in their home with them because they were afraid of getting COVID-19."

The emergency shelter moved from its regular Brunswick Street location, which can only house 30 people,to Fredericton High School after students were sent home.

This allowed the shelter to better observe physical distancing requirements.

The school's gyms and dressing rooms have been used to house guests. Organizers have been making sure beds are each two metres apart from one another, something that wasn't possible at the Brunswick Street location.

Fredericton High School becomes a haven for homeless people

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To make way for social distancing, the city's out of the cold shelter has been moved to the Fredericton High School.

But there is a time limit to their stay.

The shelter can't operate over the summer months and theprovince is preparing to send students back to school in September.

Kingston said the only real solution is to find permanent homes for people relying on the shelter.

"What people really need is a place of their own," she said.

More New Brunswickers are eating their vegetables

With the growingseason just underway, produce farmers are seeing more people inquiring about locally harvested vegetables.

Phil Savage, owner of Savage Gardens on the Kingston Peninsula, said he's already seen an uptick in customers looking for some locally grown produce.

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"We've noticed, probably in the last six weeks or so, an increase in interest in our produce packs which we start taking sign-ups for usually in the early spring."

Savage believes it's because more New Brunswickers arecooking at home instead of going out to eat.

"They're eager to find fresh local food and vegetables."

Savage said people are also turning to local producers to avoid grocery stores.

"People are realizing how important it is to make connections with local farmers and support them."

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Customers are most excited for popular veggies likecarrots and potatoes, as well as salad greens.

He has three family members working on his farm full-time, but depending on the season, he might need more part-time employees.

"I'm very curious to see how the season unfolds and perhaps there'll be more demand than we expect."

"In which case, yes, we may be putting in some long days and weeks, or we may just cap it at what we can manage this season."

Daycares reopen next week

Education Minister Dominic Cardy spoke at a news briefing today about the reopening of daycares.

The government announced regulateddaycares can begin reopening May 19 as part of the COVID-19 recovery plan. They've been shutfor everyone but essential workers since March. Some daycares laid off workers and closed completely, but others kept their employees and kept chargingparents.

"We have to bluntly embrace the [risk] if we're going to come out on the other side of this as a province with a functioning economy," he said at a press conference Thursday.

What to do if you have symptoms

People concerned they might haveCOVID-19 cantake a self-assessmenton the government website. People with two of those symptoms are asked to:

• Stay at home.

• Immediately call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor

• Describe symptoms and travel history.

• Follow instructions.