The Moncton and Fredericton health zones will be moving back to the ‘yellow’ level of COVID-19 recovery as of midnight Sunday night.
Premier Blaine Higgs said the COVID-19 all-party cabinet committee met Sunday and agreed to have Zones 1 and 3 return to yellow.
The decision was supported by Dr. Jennifer Russell, the chief medical officer of health for New Brunswick.
Higgs said the Saint John health region (Zone 2) will remain at the ‘orange’ phase of recovery for the time being.
“There are still a number of active cases in this zone and the risk of transmission remains high,” said Higgs.
“Our hope is to return Zone 2 to the yellow phase alert as soon as possible, possibly later this week.”
Four new cases were reported in New Brunswick on Sunday, including two in the Saint John region.
One of those cases involves a resident at Shannex Parkland Saint John, where an outbreak has now infected 11 residents and six employees. According to Shannex, the resident of Tucker Hall became symptomatic on Saturday and had tested negative during previous rounds of testing.
Sixteen of the confirmed cases to date are at Tucker Hall while one case is at Carleton Hall. All residents and employees at Tucker Hall are scheduled to be retested on Tuesday.
One case was also reported in the Moncton region and another in the Edmundston region on Sunday.
Of the 82 known active cases in the province as of Sunday, 44 are in the Saint John health zone.
Higgs urged all New Brunswickers to keep their contacts small and to continue taking precautions.
“Recent events have only reminded us how quickly and easily our situation can change,” he said. “While it is important that we celebrate the holiday season, we must do so differently this year. Take the extra precautions needed to keep your family and friends safe and healthy.”
Zone 1 was moved to the orange phase at midnight on Nov. 19, Zone 3 on Nov. 26, and Zone 2 on Nov. 29.
All other zones in the province are currently in the yellow level of recovery.
