Thought of the Day - June 8 2021 - New Brunswick Plays Hardball

As we have talked about, all provinces, other than Manitoba, have recently announced reopening plans ( Thought of the Day - May 31 2021 - Provincial Reopening Plans ). Many of these plans have conditional figures, quite often based on vaccination numbers. New Brunswick has a target of 75% first-shot vaccination as a Phase 1 path to green goal, but has only reached 70% and thus is delaying the loosening of restrictions (note this is 75% of those eligible, not to be confused with Canada's 75%/20% target that is of total population). Among the changes under Phase 1 of the path to green: contact with all family and friends will be allowed instead of being limited to a steady 15, the province will reopen to parts of Atlantic Canada and Quebec, and truckers and cross-border commuters will no longer be subject to isolation and testing requirements.

"Close may count in horseshoes, but not in pandemics" says Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell. "There is a path to a normal summer for all of us in New Brunswick and it leads through a vaccination clinic." Ironically, at a 65% first-dose rate, it looks like Zone 3, which includes the provincial capital Fredericton, is the laggard (Fredericton is also the sole region that has reported the India variant (B.1.617.2, WHO Delta) in the province).

New Brunswick cases are low, about 1/5 the Canadian average, with just 99 active and just one new case declared yesterday. New Brunswick also has the highest domestic vaccination rate in the Atlantic Provinces. I use the word domestic as they, like the rest of the provinces, are struggling with what to do with their snow-birds who have been vaccinated in the US. People who registered with the New Brunswick Travel Registration program are supposed to receive an email from Public Health inviting them to complete a questionnaire confirming whether they received a dose while outside the province. A new website has also been created for "these people" to voluntarily fill out so they can be counted toward the 75 percent vaccination goal. People who received their first dose outside the province and have lived in New Brunswick for at least four weeks may register for their second dose, following the same schedule as those who received their first dose in New Brunswick.

New Brunswick does not expect the delay of Phase 1 to affect the July 1 target for Phase 2. If at least 20 percent of New Brunswickers aged 65 or over have received their second dose by then, travellers from across Canada with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine will be allowed into the province with no isolation required. The same will apply to travellers from Maine, pending changes to the federal regulations.

It is expected that New Brunswick will reach their target of 75% by this weekend.

Cheers

Cliff