In light of the arrival of the Omicron variant in the province, New Brunswick is taking a pre-emptive step to limit the spread of COVID-19 over the holidays.

"We will move to Level 2 of New Brunswick's Winter Plan on Monday, Dec. 27, at 11:59pm," said Premier Blaine Higgs at a press conference in Fredericton. 

The full list of Level 2 guidelines, which includes limiting a household's list of close contacts to a steady 10, is available on the GNB website under the province's Winter Plan. The decision to move to Level 2 is meant to allow New Brunswickers to enjoy the holidays while also preparing for a wave of the highly transmissible Omicron variant that's inevitably to come.

Anyone returning to Canada from even a short trip to the US must once again present a negative COVID-19 molecular test taken within the last 72 hours. Although the province had originally planned to stop funding the seasonal ferry to Campobello to run through the winter, which it has done since the start of the pandemic, the Higgs government reversed this decision in light of the arrival of the Omicron variant. The ferry, which is the island's only link to the mainland that doesn't require traveling through the United States, will now continue running straight into its regular summer season which begins in May.

Two Atlantic provinces are imposing new travel restrictions on inter-provincial travel in time for the holidays. All people arriving on P.E.I. starting December 22 at 8am need to self-isolate for four days. Travellers will be given two rapid tests: one for day two and one for day four. If both tests are negative, the person may come out of isolation. Travellers to Newfoundland and Labrador must self-isolate for five days upon arrival and take a rapid COVID-19 test every day for five days, after which point they can leave isolation if all results are negative.

Finally, for the second year in a row Anne Hanley Cooke of Back Bay is bringing joy to her community over the holidays, transforming herself into a life-sized Elf on the Shelf. Going by the name Butterball, she pays visits to both the young and old outside seniors homes and local schools and even makes special request trips.