New Brunswick Unveils Winter Action Plan

At a press conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick Health Minister Dorothy Shephard and Chief Medical Officer of New Brunswick Dr. Jennifer Russell unveiled the province's Winter Action Plan, which outlines measures for living with the COVID-19 virus. 

“With the colder weather, and especially with the holiday season approaching, New Brunswickers will begin to spend more time indoors with friends and family,” said Minister Shephard. “It is so important that we have a clear plan in place that allows us to live with the COVID-19 virus and protect our health-care system while minimizing the impact on the everyday lives of our residents.”

The plan comprised of a three-level alert system. Each level has a detailed list of protocol to limit the spread of the virus. Level 1 is the least restrictive alert level, and all health zones are currently in Level 1. Health measures at Level 1 include masking outdoors when physical distancing cannot be maintained and physical distancing in spaces that do not require proof of vaccination, such as retail stores, malls, salons and spas. If these locations require proof of vaccination for all patrons, distancing is not necessary. Under Level 1 measures, the current Steady 20 is replaced with a maximum of 20 people for informal indoor household gatherings, and 50 for informal outdoor gatherings. Unvaccinated people are not advised to attend household gatherings due to the higher chances of spread of the virus among the unvaccinated.

“It is important for us to follow public health measures and keep our number of contacts as low as possible this winter,” said Dr. Russell. “We are still seeing a lot of spread through household gatherings and know that unvaccinated individuals continue to be at high risk for becoming seriously ill, so I really urge you, if you are not going to be vaccinated, to limit your exposures to others. The risk is very high. We know that New Brunswickers are tired of ongoing restrictions, and we want you to be able to have as little disruption as possible over the next few months.”

Levels 2 and 3 each include additional measures and will come into effect as necessary based on several factors, including increased case numbers and hospitalizations.