Public Health is reporting 31-new COVID cases in the past 24-hours – that is another new daily record for confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic last March. Eighteen of the cases are in the Saint John region.
Chief Medical Officer of Health – Dr Jennifer Russell – says she is expecting the numbers will continue to swell in the coming days as we see the impact of New Year’s gatherings.
There are now 110-active cases across the province including 22 here in the Saint John region – most of those centred in Tucker Hall at the Shannex Millidgeville seniors complex. One person is in hospital in intensive care.
Russell says one of the main triggers for moving to the Red Level is the impact of the current outbreaks on our hospital system. Some surgeries at a hospital in northwestern New Brunswick has cancelled elective surgeries. Russell says 92 healthcare workers are off the job due to COVID related reasons – 73 of them employed by the Horizon Health Network.