N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 1 death, less than half of eligible population boosted on eve of Level 1

On the eve of New Brunswick's transition to eased COVID-19 restrictions, the province recorded another COVID-related death, hospitalizations decreased by one, to 78, and lessthan half of the eligible population has received their booster dose of a vaccine against the virus.

Premier Blaine Higgssaid hospitals are "stabilizing enough," with the number of hospitalizations continuing to trend downward, and more health-care workers able to return to work after testing positive, to move to Level 1of theCOVID-19 winter plan, the least restrictive level, at 11:59 p.m.

It's "a major step towards reducing and eliminating restrictions as we prepare to ease out of our winter plan over the coming weeks," Higgs said in a statement.

Among the changes,larger indoor and outdoor gatherings are allowed;business, such as retail, restaurants, gyms and entertainment centres, will return to full capacity;singing will be allowed in faith venues; and all sports are allowed without restrictions.

Visitor restrictions in hospitals will remain in place as the number of COVID-19 cases provincewide is projected to increase over the coming weeks with the return to Level 1, saidDr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health.

"Right now, the risk of asymptomatic visitors bringing Omicron into our hospitals remains fairly high," she said in a statement.

The province's goal is to remove them"as soon as we can," she said.

Russell urges people to remainvigilant, as the virus is still in the province.

"Wearing a mask, getting vaccinated and getting a booster dose, and staying home when you do not feel well are proven to be effective tools to reduce the spread of COVID-19," she said.

Booster doses in decline

Over the past two weeks, about 30,000 booster shots have been administered.

That's three times fewer than during the last two weeks of January, when nearly 98,000 booster doses were given.

A total of 48.8 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received their booster shot.

The proportion of people boosted is even lower among young people. Only about 26 per centofNew Brunswickersaged 20 to29 have received a third dose.

Massan Dopegno, a student at the University ofMoncton, said she got her first two vaccines even though she was hesitant, but she has no plansto make an appointment for a booster shot.

"The only thing that could make me change my mind is the government," she said."If they decide that we have to have a third dose, we won't have much choice."

Some people, like Simon Arseneault and Marc Hbert, who were interviewed at the exit of a vaccination clinic in Moncton, want Public Health to redouble its efforts to promote booster doses.

"In my opinion, the third dose should even be a criterion for moving to Level 1," saidArseneault.

Entrepreneurs do not agree on the need for a third dose for their customers and employees, according toJohn Wishart, CEO of theGreater Moncton Chamber of Commerce.

"The enthusiasm for the booster dose seems to be waning as we approach the lifting of restrictions," he said. "But there is never universal agreement between us as to whether we should lift the obligation of vaccination or not."

The business community does, however, needa clearer plan for the next steps of reopening the province, said Wishart.

"A detailed plan with specific timelines, targets and ways of doing things would go a long way to alleviating the uncertainty people face," he said.

Third dose still needed, says expert

Benoit Barbeau, a biology professor at theUniversity ofQubec in Montreal who specializes in virology,the third dose should always be considered by governments as a tool of choice in the fight against COVID-19.

"The booster dose remains our best salvation at the moment," he said. "This is also the way that will allow us to finish this fifth wave as quickly as possible."

Asked about Premier Blaine Higgs's statement that he hopes to lift all COVID restrictions in March, Barbeau said: "Let us be aware that the pandemic is not over and that the Omicron variant is still circulating. Let's lift the restrictions gradually, but we must remain vigilant."

Opposition denounces lack of clarity

The opposition parties contendthe government lacks clarity and vision in its communications with New Brunswickers about the pandemic.

"At some point, it is extremely difficult for citizens to find their way around," said Jean-Claude D'Amours, the Liberal MLA forEdmundston-Madawaska Centre. "We receive hundreds of calls as soon as there are changes in the measures. It's quite a challenge for the population to know what to do," said Jean-Claude D'Amours, the Liberal MLA forEdmundston-Madawaska Centre."

"We see the unease that is created between what science tells us and politically, what governments choose to do," saidKevin Arseneau,the Green Party MLA for Kent North.

In his opinion, New Brunswick is not ready to "live with COVID-19."

In addition to continuing to promote vaccination, Arseneau believesthe government should make significant investmentsin the health-care system.

Department of Health spokesperson Bruce Macfarlane said Public Health is taking into account the number of third doses administered in the province. It is not, however, a determining factor for moving to Level 1.

"It is only one element of the longer formula of the decision-making process based on [scientific] evidence," he said.

The province intends to work on increasing the number of booster doses given through social media campaigns, he added.

Breakdown of death, hospitalizations and cases

The new death recorded Friday is a person in their 90s in the Moncton region, Zone 1, according to the dashboard.

Of the 78 peoplein hospital, 43were admitted for COVID-19, while 35were admitted for something else when they tested positive for the virus.

Eight people are in intensive care, a decrease of one, and eight of them are on ventilators, an increase of three.

Hospital occupancy remains at88 per cent, while ICU occupancydecreased one per cent to 72 per cent.

The seven-day average of COVID-related hospitalizations continues to steadily decline and now stands at 100, down from 108 on Thursday. The seven-day average of people requiring intensive care also dropped to 11 from 12.

There are 364 health-care workers off the job after testing positive for COVID, an increase of two. That includes 176 from the Horizon Health Network, 133 from the Vitalit Health Network and 55 from Extra-Mural/Ambulance New Brunswick.

Public Health confirmed 254 new cases of COVID through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) labtests, putting the province's active case count at 3,434.

An additional 709 people self-reported they tested positive on rapid tests.

The regional breakdown of PCR-confirmed cases includes:

Moncton region, Zone 1

• 108 new cases and 1,171active cases

Saint John region, Zone 2

• 43 new cases and 664 active cases

Fredericton region, Zone 3

• 39 new cases and 640 active cases

Edmundston region, Zone 4

• 35 new cases and 384active cases

Campbellton region, Zone 5

• Three new cases and 106 active cases

Bathurst region, Zone 6

• 16 new cases and 312active cases

Miramichi region, Zone 7

• 10 new cases and 157active cases

A total of 717,124 PCR tests have been conducted to date, including 1,797 on Thursday.

As of Friday, 48.8 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers havereceived their booster shot, up from 48.6 per cent, 86.4 per cent havereceived two doses of a vaccine, up from 86.3 per cent, and 92.7per cent had received one dose, unchanged.

New Brunswick has had 34,222cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with 30,488 recoveries so far and 298 COVID-related deaths.

No more weekend dashboard updates

With the move to Level 1, the COVID-19 dashboard will only be updated Monday to Friday, the government announced Friday.

"As such, data following a weekend or holiday will include the numbers for multiple days," according to a news release.

The next dashboard update will be on Tuesday,because of the Family Day holiday on Monday.

The government posts advisories on itsFacebook page and Twitter accounteach day, when the dashboard has been updated.

5 more casesof Omicron subvariantconfirmed

Five more New Brunswickers have tested positive for thehighly transmissibleCOVID-19 Omicron subvariant called BA.2, says the Department of Health.

That brings the provincialtotal to ninesince thefirst case a person in the Moncton region, Zone 1 was announced on Feb. 4.

"Due to the large volume of tests, the George Dumont Lab sequences a number of random samples per week in order to assess circulating variants in the province," said department spokesperson Bruce Macfarlane.

"Currently, 190 samples are being sequenced for variants on a weekly basis, with samples selected from across the province."

Asked about the symptoms and severity of the confirmed cases, and whether any of them are hospitalized, Macfarlaneresponded with generalities.

"Evidence and data is still being collected regarding the symptoms and severity associated with this variant. There has not been enough cases worldwide, nationally or provincially of BA.2 to date, to comment further."

Asked about the vaccination status of the individuals, whether they had any underlying health conditions, and whether they had COVID before, Macfarlane said Public Health "has a duty to protect every resident's rights to privacy."

It provides "enough and pertinent information the public needs to actively participate in the containment of outbreaks by communicating sufficient information to the public in a manner that will not permit the identification of affected individuals," he said.

"Details about confirmed COVID-19 cases are always shared following the same standards: age group and zone."

He did not provide the age group of any of the BA.2 cases, or the zones of the eight latest cases.

BA.2is believed to be about30 per cent more transmissiblethan the BA.1 Omicron variant, whichhas causeda surge inhospitalizations and cases during the fifth wave of the pandemic.

Danish scientists have reported, however,there's no difference in hospitalizations when compared withBA.1, andvaccines are expected to continue offering protection against severe illness.

Relief funding for sports organizations

Not-for-profit sports organizations that suffered financial losses because ofPublic Health restrictions during Level 2 and Level 3 of theCOVID-19 winter plan can now apply for relief funding of up to $10,000, the government announced Friday.

The one-time funding is intended for organizations that lost money due to cancelled programs or events between Dec. 13, 2021,and Feb. 18, 2022.

"The sport sector, like every aspect of society, has been hit hard by COVID-19, and we want to make sure those organizations and programs are supported," Tourism, Heritage and Culture Minister Tammy Scott-Wallace said in a statement.

"The recent cancellation of sporting events and the restrictions on programming led to financial loss and increased participant dropout rates," she said.

"The COVID-19 relief fund will help recovery efforts and support the survival and prosperity of the not-for-profit sport sector into the future."

Applications for the funding will be accepted until March 11. More information on the fund, including application details,is available online.