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Update: Premier Blaine Higgs has announced he has contracted COVID-19 after a positive result from a rapid test.
Higgs participated in a press conference Friday morning virtually. He said he came into close contact with others who were positive and is now awaiting a PCR test result.
The provincial government further announced that non-urgent and elective surgeries and procedures are being cancelled due to the strain on the province’s health-care system from the COVID surge.
The announcement was made Friday morning by Health Minister Dorothy Shephard.
A news conference is being held to update the public on COVID-19 testing, isolation and contact tracing in light of the dominant Omicron variant.
The update comes as New Brunswick has once again broken its daily case record for new COVID-19 infections.
The province announced 572 new cases on Thursday, and two more deaths. Active cases now total 2,840.
There are now 16 people in intensive care and another 24 are in hospital. Of the 40 people hospitalized, 27 are over the age of 60 and 11 people are on a ventilator.
No one under 19 is in hospital, according to a government news release.
The rate of people hospitalized and in the intensive care unit “continues to most greatly impact people who are unvaccinated,” the release says.
Backlog for PCR tests continues
There remains a significant delay in people’s ability to get a PCR test despite Health Minister Dorothy Shephard saying the Horizon Health Network has increased staffing at assessment centres.
A news release from the province said the biggest backlog is in the Saint John region, with 2,200 requests for tests. Shephard said the goal is to test priority cases within 24 hours. That group includes health-care workers and early childhood educators.
The second priority group, which includes symptomatic people and those with positive rapid tests, are being booked for a test within five days.
According to a news release, Zone 3 has a backlog of about 750 requests and Zone 1 has a backlog of about 540.
