N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Education minister gives update on schools
CBC
New Brunswick Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy is providing new information Monday on the status of schools in the province.
The provincial government announced a news conference would take place at 2:30 p.m., with Cardy and department staff participating. The briefing will be livestreamed here.
Most students in the province have been at home since the holiday break, with the province initially announcing online learning would begin Jan. 11 and continue until Jan. 21.
With the province moving to Level 3 of its COVID-19 winter plan, students' return to schools was pushed back further to Jan. 31.
The decision to delay the reopening of schools came amid soaring numbers of new COVID-19 infections, as well as a surge in hospitalizations caused by the disease.
Another three people who had COVID-19 have died, Public Health said Monday, including a person in their 90s in the Moncton region, Zone 1, a person in their 80s in the Saint John region, Zone 2 and a person in their 70s in the Edmundston region, Zone 4. This brings the current total of COVID-related deaths in the province to 212.
There are 12 people in intensive care and another 119 in hospital, for a total of 131 people hospitalized with COVID-19, Public Health said in a news release.
Seventy-four of those currently hospitalized were admitted for reasons other than COVID-19.
Of those in hospital, 101 are 60 or over, and four people are on a ventilator. Three people 19 and under are hospitalized. The seven-day rolling average of hospitalizations is available on the COVID-19 dashboard.
There are currently 469 health-care workers who have tested positive for the virus and are isolating.
The rate of people hospitalized and in ICU continues to most greatly impact people who are unvaccinated and those who are over six months from their second dose.
Information about the rates of cases and hospitalizations based on vaccination status, the age and origin of new cases, and additional information, is available on the COVID-19 dashboard.
P.E.I.'s Public Schools Branch is looking for 50 substitute bus drivers, and it'll be recruiting at three job fairs on Saturday, June 8. The job fairs are located at the Atlantic Superstore in Montague, Royalty Crossing in Charlottetown, and the bus parking lot of Three Oaks Senior High in Summerside. All three run from 9 a.m. until noon. Dave Gillis, the director of transportation and risk management for the Public Schools Branch, said the number of substitute drivers they're hiring isn't unusual. "We are always looking for more. Our drivers tend to have an older demographic," he said.