N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Circuit breakers lifted, new household isolation rules provincewide

The COVID-19 circuit breakers in the Moncton and Miramichi regions will be lifted Friday at 6 p.m., but new household isolation rules are being implemented provincewide to try to curb a recent spike in cases.

When someone tests positive for COVID-19 everyone in their household must self-isolate regardless of their vaccination status, Premier Blaine Higgs announced Thursday.

This is because 49 per cent of the new cases in the past week have been the result of household transmissions.

People who test negative with a PCR test on Day 5 will be released from isolation, he said. A negative PCR test on Day 10 will also be required.

Higgs also confirmed during a COVID briefing that government employees who aren't vaccinated by Friday will be placed on unpaid leave.

But instead of the requirement they be fully vaccinated by Friday, the government now says they must, at a minimum, show proof of at least one dose and an appointment for a second, Higgs said.

Just over three per cent will be sent home without pay, he said, adding he remains hopeful they will choose to get their vaccinations.

On Oct. 5, Higgs announced all provincial government employees in the civil service, the health-care system, the education system and Crown corporations, as well as staff in long-term care facilities, schools and licensed early learning and child-care centres must provide proof they are fully vaccinated or have a medical exemption by Nov. 19. If not, they'll be placed on leave without pay. 

Earlier this month, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard had opened the door to the province dropping its mandatory COVID-19 vaccination policy for health-care workers.

In response to questions from People's Alliance MLA for Miramichi Michelle Conroy, Shephard told the legislature the government was "reviewing" the decisions of Ontario and Quebec, which both backed away from requiring health-care workers to be vaccinated, citing fears of staffing shortages.

The New Brunswick Medical Society has urged the government to maintain its mandatory vaccination policy for health-care professionals.

New Brunswick recorded 72 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday, putting the provincial active caseload at 566 and marking a milestone in the pandemic for the province.

The COVID-19 case count since the province moved to the green phase in midsummer has now surpassed 5,000.

That means the province has recorded double the number of cases in the fourth wave than in the first, second and third waves combined.