David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/06/methinks-higgys-circus-must-go-on-and.html
#nbpoli #cdnpoli
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid19-nb-death-long-term-care-1.5611120
Resident at long-term care facility dies from COVID-19, province announces 3 new cases
Death is the second in New Brunswick related to virus
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 13, 2020 2:21 PM AT
Another resident at Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville has has died from complications related to COVID-19. (Serge Bouchard/Radio-Canada)
Another resident at a long-term care facility near Campbellton, N.B., has died from complications related to COVID-19, Public Health announced Saturday.
The individual, a resident of the Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville, was in their 80s. The person is the second in New Brunswick to die from the virus.
"I was deeply saddened to learn of a death related to COVID-19 in our province," Premier Blaine Higgs said in a news release.
The news release does not confirm the identity of the person who died, but said the individual had been admitted to hospital.
Public Health also reported three new cases of the disease in the Campbellton region, also known as Zone 5, on Saturday.
The three new cases include two health-care workers at the Campbellton Regional Hospital and an employee at Manoir de la Vallée.
Their ages of the three new cases are as follows:
- An individual in their 20s
- An individual in their 30s
- An individual in their 50s
There are 29 active cases in the province. Four people are hospitalized and one person is in intensive care.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, offered condolences to the family and friends of the second person to die from COVID-19 in the province. (Government of New Brunswick)
Many of the cases are linked to Manoir de la Vallée.
To date, 36,605 tests have been conducted. Of the 157 confirmed cases, 126 people have recovered from the virus.
Campbellton Regional Hospital closes ER
The Vitalité Health Network announced its emergency room is closing effective 8 p.m. until further notice.Visits to the Campbellton Regional Hospital are also now prohibited, and all non-emergency services offered by the facility are cancelled until further notice.
"The Network has no choice but to take these measures immediately given the evolution of the spread of COVID-19 in Region 5," Gilles Lanteigne, president and CEO of the network, said in a press release sent out on Saturday.
Emergency services at the hospital are still open, but people with "mild symptoms" are being asked to contact their family physician, nurse practitioner or Tele-Care 811 before going to the emergency department.
What to do if you have symptoms
People concerned they might have COVID-19 can take a self-assessment on the government website at gnb.ca.Public Health says symptoms shown by people with COVID-19 have included: a fever above 38 C, a new cough or worsening chronic cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, new onset of fatigue, new onset of muscle pain, diarrhea, loss of sense of taste or smell, and difficulty breathing. In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.
People with two of those symptoms are asked to:
- Stay at home.
- Call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor.
- Describe symptoms and travel history.
- Follow instructions.
139 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
"How's Byron making out buddy he see any justice at the hands of Just Dave?"
Methinks this dude is one of the tr o lls who has been cyberstalking my family and I since I ran in Fundy Royal in 2004 and then wrote Bryon Prior's defense and counterclaim for the Supreme Court of Newfoundland in January of 2005 N'esy pas?
Reply to @Lou Bell: Methinks when the cows do come perhaps you should ask them to tap Tim Hortons Hampton RCMP so they can get a good laugh at your malicious nonsense last night N'esy Pas?
Reply to @David Amos: Huh ?
Hes trying to intimidate you as he saves all these back and forths on his blog for his future cases hes busy building in some guy near Frederictons tool shed. Booooo
Methinks you have it backwards on purpose it was Cardy and his buddies who sent me the butter tarts in the Canada Post before the election in 2018 and I posted the signed note and his emails about it on the Internet before i ran in Sussex against Northrup. The RCMP and everybody else knows that N'esy Pas?
Reply to @David Amos: If the Liberals had gotten in I would have gotten a 130 Million Dollar bill for some " Phonie Games " ! And NO Butter Tarts to boot !
Or maybe a healing walk and the government will cover the air fare and expenses?
"Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: I live in your beloved Fundy Royal riding. You aren't doing much to win my vote next time around methinks"
Don't worry about Lou. A broken clock is right twice a day, and holds a record that Lou aspires to
"Methinks Higgy's Circus must go on and on and on N'esy Pas?"
David Amos
Methinks
all the usual suspects who argue every issue within the Crown's forum
24/7 should consider investigating matters for themselves instead of
attacking folks trying to inform them of what they know about Higgy's
Police State N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos:
You dig to the heart of what's really going on. You've got the inside
track. More importance and respect in your pinky toe that the rest of us
EH??
Tony Mcalbey
Reply to @Ray Oliver: David is a great contributor in a democracy. Refreshing to read his logical views.
David Amos
Reply to @Tony Mcalbey: Methinks rather obvious that if your buddy "Ray" truly thought I was you he would not have spent all day arguing you about a virus N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: No when someone makes a ridiculous point I feel I can chime in. Again.. this isnt all about you big shooter
David Amos
Reply to @Tony Mcalbey: How much do you know about what your buddy "Ray" is referring to?
"Check his blog where hes gonna do some light bounty hunting for Whitey Bulger. Or his cows being killed by laser beams. Or his wire tap tapes he found in an FBI dumpster that could take down a sitting president. LOGICAL. LOL."
David Amos
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: Didnt an officer say he spotted Bulger in Nfld? Yet he had been living in California in the same condo for 16 years. Can you get any further from Nfld in North America than that? Alaska maybe? LOL. Bounty Hunter what a good laugh. You know it's illegal in Canada right?
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: Methinks the RCMP in Alberta should do a wellness check on their shill Dean Roger Ray N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: Methinks the RCMP in BC should also pay a visit on Bryon Prior's other buddy Dana Durnford as well N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: Methinks that anyone can read your blog pull out the goodies then fire it out here. Anyone can do this the way you refer people to it.
Lou Bell
Reply to @Tony Mcalbey: Ha ! Ha ! Ha ! Can't stop laughing ! You and Dave !!!
David Amos
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: CRY ME A RIVER. Sound familiar famous amos the bounty Hunter extraordinaire??
David Amos
Reply
to @Lou Bell: Methinks its interesting that you claim to not follow
"social media" but claimed something else to another dude yesterday
N'esy Pas?
Reply to @Matt Steele: Dave has a social media fan I see ! A couple , you and Terry
Content disabled
Has the doctor who started this cluster been arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter yet?
James Smythe
Here are your CDC statistics from the US (population 330 million), where I'm sure we can all agree handled Covid much worse than we did in Canada, breaking down mortality per age group, current as of June 6, 2020: (2.11 million cases to date)
mortality as % of positive case #
Under 1 year old: 5 0.000237
1 - 4: 3 0.000142
5-14: 13 0.000616
15-24: 116 0.005498
25-34: 640 0.0303
35-44: 1649 0.782
45-54: 4588 0.217
55-64: 11,439 0.542
65-74: 19,857 0.941
75-84: 25,520 1.21
85+: 31,778 1.51
What you may notice from the data set, is that older people are more likely to pass away. And this holds true for natural causes, and all other infectious diseases. You can all calm down now. We've handled it better in Canada, your risk is likely lower than the chart presented. Can't wait for all the confirmation bias displays below this comment.
Bob Smith
+10 likes for crushing their illusions.
Paul Milner
This
headline is so misleading. 80 and 90 year old are not dying of CV. They
are dying of old age/ complications. CV is the straw that broke the
camel's back, that's all. All these ridiculous headlines do is stoke
irrational fear. Comorbidity should be reported as its own statistic.
Meanwhile in NB over 3000 people have died of other causes this year.
That's a long time. A grandparent or great-grandparent can attend a lot of graduations, weddings and births over eight years. That amount of time — even a significantly shorter amount of time — can make the difference between someone being known to their grandchildren only through old photographs and having an important and enduring impact on their lives."
A few days ago, Dr. Ngola revealed based on investigative evidence that he was not responsible for New Brunswick's second COVID-19 wave.
While Ngola can still have a fine for failing to self-isolate, he can no longer be charged for the recent outbreaks and deaths.
Source: CBC New Brunswick "Doctor disputes he's 'patient zero' in Campbellton COVID-19 outbreak, seeks apology" - https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-campbellton-doctor-jean-robert-ngola-premier-apology-1.5605985
Reply to @Ray Oliver: methinks you’re jealous
Fay Briggs
Tom Campbell
Reply to @Paul Milner: Without the restrictive measures, the numbers would have been much higher. Everyone should knot this by now.
Tom Campbell
Tom Campbell
Reply to @Fred Brewer: That's the case in Hamilton.
And where did you come up with that fact? Most of us have NOT had it and those that have had it, could have lifelong health issues and some doctors suspect a shorter life span.
So that's it? Just because he says he was not responsible we have to believe him? Since we know he was untruthful to border officials about the purpose of his trip and was evasive when questioned, his credibility is shot. If he was not responsible, then there will be a lawsuit and in court the truth will come out. Until then, when I look at all the evidence, I see his actions as the cause of the current outbreak of covid in zone 5. Patient Zero was his daughter.
I do hope they'll be a lawsuit, and all the facts will come out in court. Whether he was patient zero or not, does not change the fact that he violated the emergency public health rules, putting all of NB at risk.
He got caught, and is now trying everything he can to save face, but he did what he did, and that is fact and he admits that he did not isolate upon returning from a personal trip, and that alone is enough for the backlash against him - regardless of if he was sick or not, or patient zero or not, or if his child was patient zero or not.
Bob Smith
A
few days ago, there were several comments saying, among other things,
that Covid was only contracted by the elderly or already sick. Sad to
see an article like this which shows otherwise. I hope this pandemic
doesn't lead to more deaths in NB.
JoeBrown
Lou Bell
Very disturbing are the continuing cases with the Healthcare workers at the Hospital . May need to be addressed by Vitalite' . Their " different strokes for different folks " re Locums appears to be not working .
SarahRose Werner
Lou Bell
So sad and so avoidable
In essence when the doctor saw 150 patients and interacted with hospital staff, shopped for groceries and did his errands while he was infected, he became NB's first super spreader.
Tony Mcalbey
Reply to @Ray Oliver: you should know by now you’re wrong
Ray Oliver
Reply
to @Tony Mcalbey: You haven't been on as long as I've been calling out
the "fierce political animal" as he calls himself. Yet you know so much.
Hmmmm. Not hard to figure that out Dave Amos 2.0
Methinks you should finally explain to me why you have allowed my political foes to falsely claim that I am you for so long N'esy Pas?
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-virus-pandemic-roundup-1.5609379
N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Province confirms new case at Campbellton hospital
The new case involves a health-care worker in their 40s who works at the hospital
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 12, 2020 12:45 PM AT
Public Health has confirmed one new case of COVID-19, a health-care worker at the Campbellton Regional Hospital. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
Public Health has confirmed one new case of COVID-19 at the Campbellton Regional Hospital after announcing two health-care workers tested positive for the virus on Thursday.
The new case is an individual in their 40s, who is also a health-care worker at the Campbellton Regional Hospital. Vitatlié Health Network confirmed a health-care worker at the hospital was diagnosed with the virus on Wednesday.
"When outbreaks occur, it reminds us that we need to continue our efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health in a news release.
"We need to maintain physical distancing and practise good hygiene everywhere we go to avoid new outbreaks. We can be kind and continue to support each other through this pandemic."
28 active cases of COVID-19
There are 28 active cases in the province.The first in a cluster of cases was reported May 21 in the Campbellton region, also known as Zone 5, after a doctor travelled to Quebec for personal reasons and did not self-isolate after returning home to the area. Many of the cases have been found at Manoir de la Vallée, a long-term care facility in Atholville.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, is reminding residents to wash their hands and continue physically distancing themselves from others. (Government of New Brunswick/Submitted)
One resident of the Manoir has died. Five people from the region are in hospital, one of them in intensive care.
There have been 154 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick, with 125 who have recovered from the respiratory illness.
As of Friday, 36,125 tests have been conducted.
There could be more unknown cases lurking, epidemiologist says
An epidemiologist is warning New Brunswickers that there might be more cases of COVID-19 across the province.The province has seen a cluster of new cases of the respiratory illness over the past two weeks in the Campbellton region, but Dr. Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, said some people could be asymptomatic or only have a minor case of the virus.
"It would surprise me if we tested everyone in New Brunswick right now if we got zero positive cases," said Furness.
"Even if somehow there's zero circulating COVID we have to remember it's only a car ride or a plane ride away from a new case landing in the community and that's the new normal for a little while."
Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto, says there are likely more cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick. We just don't know about them. (University of Toronto)
Furness is warning New Brunswickers not to be cavalier about the COVID-19 virus, even if it looks like the outbreak is waning.
"COVID isn't gone, it's in the background," he said.
"And if we let it, it will come back. And it will come roaring back. And that's something that we're going to be coping with for some time."
Furness recommends maintaining physical distancing and wearing masks while out in public, even advocating for making them mandatory for stores.
"My gut tells me that masks will prove to be important," he said, "And just by way of reminder, they're important because they help you keep your droplets to yourself so that you protect others and that others wearing masks protects you."
Last week the province announced that masks would be mandatory in all indoor public environments, before backtracking on the decision within 24 hours.
Furness said early studies have indicated that the virus is acting similar to other coronaviruses, meaning that there will likely be a lull of cases during the summer months.
But that could also mean the potential of a second wave, which New Brunswickers will have to guard against.
Furness says masks help people keep droplets to themselves during the COVID-19 era. (Elizabeth Fraser/CBC)
"The good news is that even if we're not being disciplined we will have, I believe, pretty substantial protection this summer," said Furness.
"The downside is that if we convince ourselves over the next three months that we've won and that we don't need to be vigilant we will set the conditions for a very vicious second wave in mid to late autumn."
Furness said there are promising signs that a vaccine could be developed within two years, but cautions that you still need to manufacture about seven billion doses.
In the meantime, governments will have to balance between implementing too many restrictions, which could lead to people not following any, and implementing too few, which could open us up for even more cases.
Furness is also hopeful Ottawa will keep the Canada-U.S. border closed in coming months.
"I think come the fall it's going to get awful," he said. "And I think this is going to be easily the largest loss of life in American history."
What to do if you have symptoms
People concerned they might have COVID-19 can take a self-assessment on the government website at gnb.ca.Public Health says symptoms shown by people with COVID-19 have included: a fever above 38 C, a new cough or worsening chronic cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, new onset of fatigue, new onset of muscle pain, diarrhea, loss of sense of taste or smell, and difficulty breathing. In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.
People with two of those symptoms are asked to:
- Stay at home.
- Call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor.
- Describe symptoms and travel history.
- Follow instructions.
76 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
Lou Bell
Conspiracy theorists in full swing tonight ! RCMP goin' after Timmie coffee drinkers ! Aliens , cows , UFO's ! Must be a full moon tonight !!!
David Amos
Dave Corbin
Will the RCMP allow us to have our Tim Horton coffee sitting in our own truck in the parking lot now or is it just the Tim Horton's in Hampton that we are not allowed?
Tony Mcalbey
Michel Forgeron
Reply to @Tony Mcalbey: As I understand it, If it's a family member it's ok, ,but a non family member would have to be in the back seat, if you have a back seat. Re other Tim's stuff, in some places you're allowed inside, now can sit at a table etc., as long as you keep 6' distance.
David Amos
Reply to @Michel Forgeron: FYI They both were sitting alone in their vehicles
JJ Carrier
Reply to @Michel Forgeron: Some Tim's are requesting you stay six feet away from David Amos...Something about hot air with no substance or coherent presentation besides his own 'egobubble' that causes your TimBits to explode...
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: Go Figure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XoJJF7ImcM
"I have an incredible update to the story of Walter Matheson. He's the Hampton, New Brunswick resident who was ticketed almost $300 by police for failure to comply with emergency measures in a Tim Hortons parking lot while he ate his muffin and finished his coffee, completely alone in his car."
David Amos
Reply to @JJ Carrier: Methinks its not surprising that a lot of your nasty friends use fake names but at least I know that you don't N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Methinks even your nasty no-name buddy Ray or his MLA Mr Oliver can pick up their smart phones and say "Hey Google" then ask about the RCMP in Hampton and Mr Matheson N'esy Pas?
James Smythe
What about the Great Wave of Kanagawa? Why is nobody talking about that?!
Lou Bell
Reply to @David Amos: Some , not mentioning any names , have no clue about what they're criticizing , just wanna hear themselves complain .
JoeBrown
"My gut tells me that masks will prove to be important," he said, "And just by way of reminder, they're important because they help you keep your droplets to yourself so that you protect others and that others wearing masks protects you."
This is why the virus will never go away despite the fact this simple solution exists to cut spread. Most people don't care about others so won't mask up.
JoeBrown
Reply to @Tristin Time: If she did believe that, she would have said that.
Michael Guravich
Hey, CBC, you need to separate yourselves from that lynch mob that wanted to crucify the doctor “that travelled to Quebec”. If you don’t know by now, there’s credible information that he may have had nothing to do with the recent Region 5 cluster. Get yourselves caught up and stop peddling that Higgs hysteria. There were lots of others going back and forth across that bridge, every day.
Tony Mcalbey
There's a reason why the justice system is "Innocent until proven guilty". There's certainly flaws within the court systems, but it's still a hell of a lot better than vigilantism rules and accusations.
Were we not then told that a doctor had travelled outside the province, had misled the border officials and then failed to self isolate, followed by the revelation that the doctor was the child's father?
While people have been unable to visit ill and dying relatives and even attend funerals LOCALLY, the child's mother saw fit to fly to another continent for a funeral with the doctor facilitating this action, potentially coming back into NB two people with the virus (he and child), with neither isolating.
Am I remembering this incorrectly or was it reported this way but then retracted?
You didn't include the keyboard cowboys who no doubt get their impressive knowledge from the flatulate wind that blows when they raise a leg slightly from their chair.
SarahRose Werner
Reply to @Monsieur Rioux: According to Dr Ngola, as reported by the CBC June 2, he was contacted on May 25 and told that one of his patients had tested positive. He then had himself and his daughter tested. They too both tested positive. However, the first case of COVID in the outbreak, the case of a child who'd attended two different daycares, was reported May 21. Therefore this child was not the doctor's daughter, because she wasn't tested until the 25th or 26th (assuming that the doctor is telling the truth re: her testing date, but he'd be foolish to lie about something so easily verifiable). It *might* be that the child in the first case was another child of the doctor's, but I've never read this in any reliable source.
Monsieur Rioux
Reply to @SarahRose Werner: When the child's positive test was announced, it came with "both parents are health care workers at the hospital" and then when it was announced that a health care worker at the hospital had previously been out of NB and back without isolating and had returned with his daughter, one didn't need to be too cynical to assume that the child was his.
However, a key factor is that with each announced subsequent positive test and contact tracing in the early cases, before it took hold in the care home, it was stated that each person testing positive had contact with the person reported previously who had failed to isolate upon returning to the province.
My newspaper and CTV have reported one child only in this batch of positive results.
John Oliver
The Campbellton COVID-19 cluster started when a child in the Campbellton region was diagnosed on May 21. Five days later, an individual in their 90s tested positive in the same zone. The next day, the province announced a person in their 50s had tested positive.
During the week of May 10, he drove to the Montreal suburb of Longueuil to pick up his daughter after her mother had to leave the country for a family emergency. There, he said he limited his contacts to the 4-year-old and his brother, who had been caring for her.
On his way back, he stopped in the city of Trois-Rivières to meet with two fellow physicians for a discussion about the pandemic and possible future work in Quebec. A private investigator hired by Mr. Ngola’s lawyer said the meeting took place in a local clinic for about 20 minutes.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-cases-campbellton-region-1.5608069
N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 2 employees at Campbellton hospital test positive
There are 29 active cases of the respiratory illness in New Brunswick
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 11, 2020 4:28 PM AT |
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, has said there will be more cases of COVID-19 in the future and residents need to remain vigilant. (Government of New Brunswick)
The province will extend its state of emergency for another two weeks after Public Health announced two new cases of COVID-19 in the Campbellton region Thursday.
The new cases are two employees at the Campbellton Regional Hospital. One person is in their 30s and the other is in their 40s.
"All of the stakeholders at the Campbellton Regional Hospital are mobilized to ensure that everything is in place to provide quality care and ensure the safety of patients and staff," said Gilles Lanteigne, chief executive officer of Vitalité Health Network.
"Our processes are in place, our staff are trained and have the personal protective equipment they need to do their jobs. I am confident that we will get through these difficult times."
Three people have recovered from COVID-19 in the Campbellton region, keeping the total number of active cases in New Brunswick at 29.
Since March, there has been 153 cases of COVID-19 in the province, including one death.
Two staff members at the Campbellton Regional Hospital have been diagnosed with COVID-19. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
"This is an evolving situation at the Campbellton Regional Hospital and everyone must watch for symptoms since COVID-19 is going to be with us for a long time," said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health.
As of Thursday, 35,753 tests have been conducted for the respiratory virus.
Red Cross tries to help seniors feel less isolated
The Red Cross is starting a program to help seniors feel less isolated during the COVID-19 outbreak.The Friendly Calls program will see isolated seniors matched with volunteers from the Red Cross.
Volunteers will regularly call seniors to check in and talk. The goal is to reduce feelings of isolation in a group that is particularly at risk of COVID-19 and who might already have felt isolated.
"It's just someone to talk to for those folks who have no one to talk to," said Bill Lawlor, provincial director of the Red Cross.
"They don't have family around, at least in the Atlantic provinces. Or they don't have family at all. No one to provide that type of support."
Seniors or their families can call the Red Cross and go through a short introductory interview to make sure they're a good fit for the program.
After that, seniors are matched with a volunteer.
"We find a volunteer who can meet the schedule, try to see if we can meet some similar personality traits as much as possible, and then we'll give it a trial run," said Lawlor.
"If it continues to work well then they'll just carry on … if not, that's ok. We can switch out."
Provincial Red Cross director Bill Lawlor said the new Red Cross program will help seniors feel less isolated during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Shane Fowler/CBC)
While the goal of the program is to ease feelings of isolation, Lawlor said similar programs in the past have helped in other ways, such as detecting early stages of memory loss.
"In the course of a conversation, you can start to pick up things that might suggest that someone is not feeling well, but they haven't made an appointment with their physician," said Lawlor.
Lawlor doesn't have concrete numbers for how many volunteers are needed but is urging anyone interested to call the Red Cross.
He also urges family and friends to talk to seniors about joining the program, particularly those who are shy
"There's those folks who could really benefit from this interaction who you know they won't call," said Lawlor.
"They don't feel they will benefit from it even though clearly they could."
New Brunswickers encouraged to renew licences
The province is urging people to renew licences, registrations, certificates and permits that had their expiration dates extended until the end of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Waiting until the end of June could cause delays, particularly for driver's licences, which take two weeks to process and be mailed out.
The province said Service New Brunswick has been increasing the number of services it offers online and through Teleservices, especially for some of its most requested renewals, such as driver's licences.
"Online and Teleservices are the most accessible, safe and convenient service methods," said Service New Brunswick Minister Sherry Wilson in a news release
"Based upon the significant increase in these methods, we believe New Brunswickers are embracing them."
Twelve centres offer in-person services, by appointment only, for things that cannot be completed online or through Teleservices.
What to do if you have symptoms
People concerned they might have COVID-19 can take a self-assessment on the government website at gnb.ca.Public Health says symptoms shown by people with COVID-19 have included: a fever above 38 C, a new cough or worsening chronic cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, new onset of fatigue, new onset of muscle pain, diarrhea, loss of sense of taste or smell, and difficulty breathing. In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.
People with two of those symptoms are asked to:
- Stay at home.
- Call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor.
- Describe symptoms and travel history.
- Follow instructions.
44 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Methinks as the stock market go down again all the MLAs, bureaucrats, unions and teachers etc regret allowig Higgy to put their money into a shared risk pension plan but at least my fellow taxpayers should be grateful that we no longer have to make for their losses like Victor Boudreau did with his budget in 2009 N'esy Pas?
David Peters
Reply to @David Amos:
What's with NB Power sending so many ppl home at Pt Lepreau and Coleson Cove? Warehousing patronage appointments all of a sudden has become unsafe?
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks the RCMP and their Fed bosses are beginning to figure out that Higgy cannot corner a virus and better than he can herd the cats in the legislature notwithstanding the fact that Cardy is now willing to share his butter tarts with anyone except Bruce Northrup N'esy Pas?
Terry Tibbs
Content disabled
Reply to @David Amos:
We shut our entire economy down, lost all of our jobs and put ourselves in astronomical amounts of debt for a “disease” that kills less people than daily life does.
It's past time to get back to normal and let the cards fall as they might.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks the RCMP and Higgy et al will enjoy their email tomorrow N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Content disabled
Reply to @David Amos: Methinks they've been blocked from you for many many years. No one cares.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks a critic who does not obey the rules of this forum and have the sand to use a real name is even more annoying N'esy Pas?
Tony Mcalbey
Content disabled
Reply to @David Amos: big time annoying
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks Higgy is beginning to figure out that he cannot corner a virus and better than he can herd the cats in the legislature notwithstanding the fact that Cardy is now willing to share his butter tarts with anyone N'esy Pas?
Joe Doe
Cleaning up the trash
Roy Kirk
How do his private investigators know that they identified all of his contacts in Quebec? What incentive did he have to identify every contact. Could he even remember every contact? And even if this is accurate, how does it excuse his failure to isolate after his trip?
David Amos
Reply to @Roy Kirk: Methinks as we watch the stock market nosedive again you can bet thin Canadian dimes to fat Yankee Petrodollars that today I called the former RCMP BOSS OF IMET who is the special investigator in this matter and the doctor's lawyer and asked them some tough questions before I sent them and Higgy et al another email N'esy Pas?
June Arnott
Hang in there CAmpbelton , New Brunswickers Do care.
David Amos
Reply to @June Arnott: Methinks if you had read another article or two about what going on up north you would understand that it would not be wise to bet the farm on your opinion N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks Higgy is beginning to figure out that he cannot corner a virus and better than he can herd the cats in the legislature notwithstanding the fact that Cardy is now willing to share his butter tarts with anyone N'esy Pas?
Joe Doe
Content disabled
Reply to @David Amos: N’est-ce pas offensive to NB citizen. So annoying.
David Amos
Content disabled
Reply to @Joe Doe: Methinks a critic who does not obey the rules of this forum and have the sand to use a real name is eve more annoying N'esy Pas?
Albert Wade
Flew to Florida earlier in the week. Just back in NB, what's this about a border closure.
David Amos
Joe Doe
Reply to @David Amos: yes. Great point. It begins.
Peter Smith
Decreasing, n'est pas? Erasing is fun.
David Amos
Joe Doe
Reply to @David Amos: so I do.
David Amos
Content disabled
Reply to @Joe Doe: You changed names again I see but you smell the same
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: Nope I'm still here but your fan club is growing. You are such a mo r on.
Glen Roberts
Guess the border being closed is not really working ...even with your new authoritarian government...
Really? The truth is offensive now?
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @Glen Roberts:
Well you see Glen, you close the border, then you invent reasons to let a select few in, than your buddy down the street needs TFWs, so you let them in too, so finally you end up with a border that is closed to only the law abiding taxpayers, but no one else.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks Higgy is beginning to figure out that he cannot corner a virus and better than he can herd the cats in the legislature notwithstanding the fact that Cardy is now willing to share his butter tarts with anyone N'esy Pas?
Tony Mcalbey
Reply to @David Amos: Higgy can’t deny that
Reply to @Tony Mcalbey: My My Methinks its too bad so sad that so many nasty words go "Poof" before I can read them N'esy Pas?
Reply to @David Amos: Your constant N'esy Pas is offensive.
Reply to @Peter Smith: Methinks you forgot to ask me if i cared what you think of me N'esy Pas?
Reply to @David Amos: I didn't care what you think. Just wanted you to know that you are offensive.
Reply to @David Amos: Methinks you've got a real good idea on what I think of you by now EH. You are irrelevant in all areas of life. My guess is it's always been that way
Reply to @David Amos:And I truly don't care if you care. Most people with Axis 2 disorders don't.
Reply to @David Amos: I'm so glad you have spell check using your phone. Your grammar on your blog is barely literate. Shows your actual level of intelligence.
David Amos
Content disabled
Reply to @Peter Smith: Methinks its not nice to make fun of Axis 2 disorders Hence you must be a Higgy supporter just like your buddy Oliver N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Content disabled
Reply to @David Amos: Nice? Your behavior on here to pester people has gotten you your own taste of it. It's not nice of me at all. Trust that it's fun though LOL!!
Johnny Almar
Content disabled
But the good doctor wants an apology. He’s a victim. : /
Ian Scott
Reply to @Johnny Almar: He could well be. I doubt the 2 current workers got it from him. So the timelines, patient, and family exposure are key. No one knows what Momma's status is as she is out of country. Cross border traffic is perilous given know one seems to know what the close by Quebec communities that are supplying Campbeltown workers are doing.
Reply to @Ian Scott: If the good doctor had nothing to hide, why didn't he come clean and tell the border officials that he'd been in Quebec for personal reasons? If they'd said he had to self-isolate and he didn't think he had to, he could have continued on home, called public health for clarification and then *done what public health told him to do.* If he'd done that, he would have been covered no matter whether new cases appeared or not. He's in a bad position right now because he got caught lying. He's a victim, all right - of his own poor judgement and dishonesty.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-virus-pandemic-coronavirus-1.5605834
N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 4 new cases of respiratory virus in Campbellton region
Moncton-area case of COVID-19 announced Tuesday involved a temporary foreign worker
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 10, 2020 1:54 PM AT
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health,
says there are four new cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick. (Submitted by Government of New Brunswick)
Public Health has announced four new cases of COVID-19 in the
Campbellton region, bringing the total number of active cases to 29.
Dr.
Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, said
two cases involve people in their 80s and two people in their 50s. Two
of the individuals are residents and the other two are staff at the
Manoir de la Vallée, a long-term care facility home in Atholville in
Restigouche County.
"Today the people of Campbellton and the
Restigouche area need us to be there for them," she said during
Wednesday's news briefing.
On Tuesday, the province also announced one new case of
COVID-19 in the Moncton area, which involved a temporary foreign worker,
who has been self-isolating since they arrived in Canada.
Math, literacy areas most affected by job shuffle in schools
The province's decision to shuffle at least 70 jobs in anglophone schools will have the most impact on English and Math.Twenty-eight people working at the district level in literacy and 28 working in numeracy — they're known as leads — will be moved to other jobs in the school system because more homeroom teachers are needed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Education Department released the breakdown of affected positions on Wednesday.
Educational leads will be moved to other positions in the school system because more homeroom teachers are needed during the COVID-19 pandemic. (iStock)
"These changes will allow the experts who were previously working in district offices to work in schools, directly with the teachers and students," spokesperson Tara Chislett said in an email to CBC News Wednesday.
"With the current redeployment to schools there are still about 150 full-time equivalent subject lead positions within the districts."
Educational leads are trained teachers who work out of district offices and travel to schools to help other teachers develop curriculum and assist them with lessons.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy says school leads are being redeployed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (CBC)
Earlier this week, the province also announced 10 respect and diversity leads will also be eliminated. They're responsible for coaching teachers and school teams about how to be more respectful and inclusive of marginalized students.
The latest cuts have been criticized by education advocates but Education Minister Dominic Cardy said the alternative could've meant not having enough teachers in New Brunswick schools in the fall.
Premier Blaine Higgs has been telling residents they need to remain vigilant until a vaccine is found for the novel coronavirus. (Government of New Brunswick/Submitted)
Once students return to school, smaller class sizes will be required, which will mean more teachers needed in schools.
151 total cases of COVID-19
Twenty-one people connected to the Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville have tested positive for COVID-19. (Serge Bouchard/Radio-Canada)
There have been 151 cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick. Since the virus first broke out in March, 121 people have recovered, including one related to the outbreak in the Campbellton region, where there has been a cluster of COVID-19 cases.
Twenty-one of the region's active 29 cases are in the Manoir de la Vallée, a long-term care facility home in Atholville.
Five patients are hospitalized with one in an intensive care unit.
What to do if you have symptoms
People concerned they might have COVID-19 can take a self-assessment on the government website at gnb.ca.Public Health says symptoms shown by people with COVID-19 have included: a fever above 38 C, a new cough or worsening chronic cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, new onset of fatigue, new onset of muscle pain, diarrhea, loss of sense of taste or smell, and difficulty breathing. In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.
People with two of those symptoms are asked to:
- Stay at home.
- Call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor.
- Describe symptoms and travel history.
- Follow instructions.
David Amos
Methinks the plot thickens rather nicely when Cardy the "pro-Big-Pharma" dude partakes of too many butter tarts and goes on and on about the notwithstanding clause much to Higgy's chagrin N'esy Pas?
"The latest cuts have been criticized by education advocates but Education Minister Dominic Cardy said the alternative could've meant not having enough teachers in New Brunswick schools in the fall."
Lou Bell
@ Ray Oliver You'll find Daves blog under "Surprise ! Surprise ! Methinks Martha and Daves Butter Tarts "
Johnny Almar
The reporters did a terrible job. They go to school and are trained to listen for what’s not said.
They did not ask how the foreign worker arrived in NB. If he flew here...what flight? What hub did he pass through? Have the other passengers been contacted?
Maybe he drove here, but UNLESS YOU ASK THE RIGHT QUESTION how can you do your job and report news properly?
The playing field is far from being level. Imo, many locals are being shut out from being able to reasonably participate in the economy.
It's not just the farming jobs, either. Virtually every form of labour like truck driving, mechanics, and restaurants.
We need a more level playing field between local job seekers and everyone else that's here working, imo.
More the merrier, on a level playing field...but we aren't talking about a level playing field.
This only benifits a few ppl who control those 'companies'. It's bad for everyone else.
Reply to @Ray Oliver: Methinks it should be blatantly obvious to the RCMP that you are just like your old buddy Barry Winters and that you don't have two clues between your ears as to who I am N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: 2 clues or 2 voices.. Methinks you've called me a few peoples but old detective Davey dont have a sweet clue nesy pas
David Amos
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: I'll buy a new couch and blanket for the person you're currently playing if you do.. promise
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: swing and a miss Davey boy. Strike one
David Amos
Reply to @Ray Oliver: Nope my reply is still awaiting moderation
Wonder why doctor's aren't doing checkups through video conferencing?
Samuel Clemmons went by Mark Twain while writing political letters...for obvious reasons, imo.
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: sorry. My bad. The voices. 2 I meant to type 12
An audit of the dept of education would help sort this mess out.
John Smith
How did this TFW get into Canada with corona virus? Wasn't he tested, Premier Higgs????"
Tony Mcalbey
June Arnott
Wonder if the workers in the home we out and about? Hope it stops soon
Cranberry Wrecklaw
Tony Mcalbey
Cranberry Wrecklaw
SarahRose Werner
David Amos
Reply to @Cranberry Wrecklaw: methinks you’re the perfect candidate N’esy Pas?
Cranberry Wrecklaw
Cranberry Wrecklaw
David Amos
Cranberry Wrecklaw
David Amos
Tony Mcalbey
David Amos
David Amos
TRUST THAT MY POLITICAL FOES ARE WELL AWARE i am a private person minding my own business and at the top of the list today is getting the "stay" on my medicare card removed ASAP N'esy Pas?
John Smith
Ray Oliver
Justin Time
One case was bad but with 22 doctors apparently not required to to self isolate peoples faith in the system and the job the government is going is falling daily.
David Amos
June Arnott
Beautifully said Dr Russell.
David Amos
June Arnott
Always late starting these things. Someone stuck in the bathroom?
David Amos
Ben Haroldson
Oh english and math aren't important anyway. Where do they get these guys. We need an election pronto.
Andrew Clarkson
Where do I go to sign your nomination papers? I will vote for you also, you seem to have all the answers to the issues that confront us in our day to day lives!
SarahRose Werner
It makes a good deal of sense to me to, in a time of crisis, pull experienced teachers out of the district offices and return them to the "front lines" in the classroom where they're needed most.
David Amos
June Arnott
Has the education dept worked out how to allow teachers to speak out about issues yet? Or are those overbearing people still chastising teachers for trying to do their job better?
David Amos
June Arnott
Has the education dept worked out how to allow teachers to speak out about issues yet? Or opiate those overbearing people still chastising teachers for trying to do their job better?
David Amos
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-locums-isolate-vitalite-campbellton-worksafenb-exemption-1.5600532
22 out-of-province doctors for Vitalité did not fully self-isolate after travel
So-called locums did not have isolation exemptions, but are essential to maintain services, says CEO
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 10, 2020 9:07 AM AT
Locums for Vitalité have been allowed to isolate at work after arriving in New Brunswick, even though they have contact with patients and other health-care workers there. (iStock)
Twenty-two doctors from outside New Brunswick have worked for the Vitalité Health Network since the COVID-19 pandemic began without fully self-isolating for 14 days after travelling, says president and CEO Gilles Lanteigne.
Almost all of the doctors, known as locums, who fill in on a temporary basis, have worked in the northern part of the province, he said, including nine in the Campbellton region, where there is an outbreak of 24 active COVID-19 cases and where, last week, the province recorded its first death related to the respiratory disease.
The locums, who came from Quebec (16), Ontario (four), Nova Scotia (one) and B.C. (one), had contact with patients and other health-care workers because of the nature of their work, said Lanteigne.
But they were tested and monitored regularly and followed several "rigorous" conditions to limit the risk of transmission. For example, they did not use the same washrooms as other people or eat in shared spaces and had to self-isolate when they were not at work.
"I think we managed it well," said Lanteigne. "We were able to maintain some of the services that we deemed essential," despite a shortage of New Brunswick physicians, he said, noting about a quarter of emergency room shifts in the northern part of the province are filled by locums.
Provincial officials have linked the Campbellton outbreak, which started May 21, to a medical professional who travelled to Quebec for personal reasons and returned to work at the Campbellton Regional Hospital without self-isolating.
Dr. Jean Robert Ngola, who has had a family practice in the region since 2013, has been suspended by Vitalité, and the province has asked the RCMP to investigate whether charges are warranted.
The Campbellton region, Zone 5, remains in the orange phase of the COVID-19 recovery plan, with 24 active cases, but the rest of the province has moved into another level of the yellow phase of recovery, with just one active case in the Moncton region, Zone 1, as of Tuesday. (Government of New Brunswick)
A new confirmed case of COVID-19 announced Tuesday involving a person in their 20s in the Moncton region is unrelated to the outbreak in the Campbellton region.
The new case, which brings the province's total number of active cases to 25, is travel-related.
New policy triggered by 'concerns'
Vitalité did not obtain isolation exemptions from WorkSafeNB for any of the 22 locums, who fill in during an illness, absence or staffing shortage, said Lanteigne. "At that time, it was not required," he said.It was May 19 that the province's pandemic task force decided that "locums, short-term residents who are unable to self-isolate for 14 days prior to starting work, would be subject to WorkSafeNB's work-isolation policy," said Department of Health spokesperson Bruce Macfarlane.
The four-person task force created in April and given authority over all aspects of the health-care system's response, including health authorities, "had concerns" about the number of locums coming in from outside the province, he said in an emailed statement.
It discussed the issue on May 14 and decided it needed to "understand the volume of locums, the volumes of the different categories of residents, where they're coming from and for how long as well as the risks and impacts of bringing them into the province and their self-isolation requirements."
Bruce Macfarlane, Department of Health spokesperson, said the Pandemic Task Force issued a directive May 28 to make it clear that any health-care worker, living in New Brunswick and working in a New Brunswick health-care facility must self-isolate for 14 days upon their return to the province. (CBC)
It also wanted a consistent policy for locums applied by the two regional health authorities — Vitalité and the Horizon Health Network, said Macfarlane.
Under the WorkSafeNB work-isolation policy, the requests for exemptions must be submitted to WorkSafeNB two weeks in advance for approval and be accompanied by a plan explaining the measures that will be taken to reduce the risks, he said.
Vitalité and Horizon are responsible to have "an operational plan to support/manage" the locums while they are in the province, he added.
Horizon follows full isolation
The "small number" of locums Horizon has brought in from outside New Brunswick since the pandemic began have all been subject to 14 days of mandatory self-isolation, said Dr. Edouard Hendriks, vice-president, medical, academic and research affairs.Out-of-province locums were not eligible for the isolation exemption during the red and orange phases of the province's COVID-19 recovery plan, according to Horizon spokesperson Kris McDavid, "only since the implementation of the yellow phase."
Horizon currently has four locums from Ontario working within the organization — two in Moncton, one in the Miramichi region and one in the Fredericton/Upper River Valley region.
"Each of them have completed the required 14-day isolation period prior to beginning work," Hendriks said in an emailed statement.
The Horizon Health Network's use of locums from outside New Brunswick has been 'very limited' since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and the coinciding restrictions on interprovincial travel, said Dr. Edouard Hendriks, vice-president of medical, academic and research affairs. (CBC)
Horizon anticipates the need for more locums this summer, he said.
If they have to be brought in from other provinces and "should the need be such where a 14-day self-isolation period isn't possible," Horizon will apply to WorkSafeNB for "work-isolation," Hendriks said.
Under this policy, locums would be authorized to go directly to and from work but required to self-isolate when not in the workplace for the first 14 days of their employment.
In addition, any locums coming into the province from so-called hot zones, where there are a significant number of COVID-19 cases would be tested for the coronavirus, and must remain in isolation until the test result is known.
No contact allowed
Asked to clarify what the isolation requirements for locums were before the task force's May 19 directive, Macfarlane replied, "This question should be addressed to the RHAs."WorkSafeNB also would not clarify the isolation requirements and exemptions for locums and other health-care workers.
The media relations representative said no one was available for an interview and directed CBC News to the operational plan, Embracing the New Normal. "It will provide you with information that may answer your questions. Also, there are several FAQs," the unnamed person said in an email.
The online document says people entering New Brunswick for work for a fixed period must self-isolate for 14 days before starting work, "unless the worker is a person entering New Brunswick under an arrangement with an employer previously approved by WorkSafeNB."
An employer must, among other things, ensure that any workers from outside New Brunswick self-isolate within the province for 14 days, or submit a plan at least 15 business days before they arrive that ensures for 14 days after they arrive that they are:
- Isolated from any New Brunswicker while they travel to and from their accommodations and worksite.
- Required to remain at their accommodations and isolated from contact with any New Brunswicker during work hours and while off duty.
7 applications for exemptions
Vitalité has submitted seven requests for exemptions to WorkSafeNB, said Lanteigne.Asked about Horizon's position that locums never qualified for exemptions before, he replied, "Well, it was different here."
Locums did qualify, he said, provided they went through a work-isolation. "Because otherwise, some services would have been closed."
Vitalité always tries first to find a New Brunswick doctor who can provide a required service, said Lanteigne.
If a New Brunswick doctor isn't available, Vitalité assesses whether the service in question is essential or could be temporarily suspended because of a lack of staff, he said.
Due to the physician shortage in New Brunswick, the Vitalité Health Network must frequently use locums from outside the province, said president and CEO Gilles Lanteigne. (Michel Corriveau/Radio-Canada)
"We are not in an easy situation, I think people understood this last winter," said Lanteigne, referring to the contentious emergency room reforms, which would have closed six rural hospital emergency departments overnight but were cancelled about public outcry.
Although Vitalité relies on locums largely to fill ER shifts, it has also called upon a gynecologist/obstetrician, a pediatrician, a psychiatrist, someone in medical imaging and a surgeon this year, he said.
Obviously, if we have a choice between a hotspot and not a hotspot, we're going to take physicians that is not from a hotspot.- Gilles Lanteigne, Vitalité president and CEO
If a service is deemed essential and must be maintained, Vitalité will then find a locum from outside the province.
"Obviously, if we have a choice between a hotspot and not a hotspot, we're going to take physicians that is not from a hotspot," said Lanteigne.
But looking at the list of 16 locums from Quebec, he noted six were from Quebec City, four from Montreal, three from Bas-Saint-Laurent and three from the Gaspé region.
"So we're very careful, but you know, as I mentioned, risk-free is not … an option here," he said.
"I think that people have learned that any travel can have consequences," he added, referring to the case of the doctor at the centre of the Campbellton outbreak.
"What I can tell you is that we make sure that our policies and procedures related to work isolation are respected."
Chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell also sits on the pandemic task force with Dr. Gordon Dow, an infectious disease specialist at Horizon; Dr. Nicole LeBlanc, Vitalité's chief of staff; and the chair, deputy minister of health Gérald Richard. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
On May 28, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell told reporters she wanted to "clarify the current policy around health- workers travelling outside the province.
"If any health-care worker living in New Brunswick and working in a New Brunswick health-care facility leaves the province for any reason — any reason whatsoever — it is mandatory that they self-isolate for 14 days upon their return," before going back to work, she said.
The province's pandemic task force had issued a directive to health-care workers that same day "to provide clarity," Department of Health spokesperson Bruce Macfarlane confirmed to CBC News.
"There were anecdotal reports that reflected confusion between the federal government's exemptions for essential workers at the international border and the provincial requirement for all New Brunswickers to self-isolate upon their return to N.B.," he said in an emailed statement.
Some exceptions
Despite Russell's blanket statement, there are exceptions to the mandatory self-isolation for health-care workers who live and work in New Brunswick.A health-care worker who crosses the border to provide care to a New Brunswick resident would be exempt, said Macfarlane, citing as an example a paramedic who transports a patient by ambulance to a hospital in another province.
Health-care workers who live outside New Brunswick but commute to the province regularly as an employee or medical staff member of a health-care facility would also be exempt.
"These individuals are reminded of the need to travel directly to and from their destination/work/accommodation, follow all guidelines for infection prevention and control and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), self-monitor for symptoms, avoid close contact with vulnerable individuals (for whom they are not caring) and follow the guidance of the chief medical officer of health."
Stricter to protect most vulnerable
Asked why the isolation requirements are stricter for New Brunswick health-care workers who take a trip outside the province than for those who commute or for locums, he said the people most vulnerable to COVID-19 depend upon the services provided by New Brunswick's health-care workers on a regular basis."We need to ensure that patients and long-term care residents are protected as much as possible. With only a few exceptions, their work rarely takes them outside of the province.
"Non-essential travel has not been permitted under the mandatory order for some time, so there should be no other reason for them to leave."
Doctor speaks
Ngola, who is also known as Ngola Monzinga and as Jean Robert Ngola Monzinga, told Radio-Canada's La Matinale on June 2 that he made an overnight return trip to Quebec to pick up his four-year-old daughter because her mother had to travel to Africa for her own father's funeral.He said he drove straight there and back with no stops and had no contact with anyone, and none of his family members had any COVID-19 symptoms at the time.
Ngola said he did not self-isolate upon returning. He went to work at the Campbellton Regional Hospital the next day.
"Maybe it was an error in judgment," said Ngola. But he pointed out that workers, including nurses who live in Quebec, cross the border each day with no 14-day isolation period required.
He said he's not sure whether he picked up the coronavirus during that trip to Quebec or from a patient he saw on May 19 who later tested positive for COVID-19.
At a news conference May 27, Premier Blaine Higgs did not identify Ngola, but described his actions as "irresponsible."
Of the 24 active cases of COVID-19 in the Campbellton region, nine cases were just announced on Monday. Eight of are residents of the Manoir de la Vallée, a long-term care home in Atholville, where five other elderly residents and four employees have also tested positive. Resident Daniel Ouellette, 84, died last Thursday.
The ninth case is a close contact of a previously identified confirmed case elsewhere in the Campbellton region.
112 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Methinks Higgy et al know why Bruce Macfarlane is gonna enjoy his voicemail N'esy Pas?
I bet he has already read your comment and no doubt will mention your malicious nonsense to Higgy et al I would lay odds that he will call most the other MacFarlane dude I mentioned in my voicemail and I bet you know who i am referring N'esy Pas?
Methinks the RCMP, the FBI and both my Yankee and Canadian brother in laws all of whom can be found within my litigation should admit that desperate shills say and do desperate things N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: wrong province. Here's a little hint for you to chew on. Outskirts of Saint John... ruuuuuunnn!!
Cranberry Wrecklaw
Content disabled
Still totally unacceptable for the doctor to go to Quebec for personal reasons, supposedly l i e at the border, and then go to the hospital against the rules.
David Amos
Reply to @Cranberry Wrecklaw: Yea Right
Yet, those in the very health care system that we are making such sacrifices to protect are not following their own rules and guidelines.
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: they let you out of the Fr ea K tent to watch the high wire act? That's kind of them
Mack Leigh
So to be clear, healthcare workers living in Quebec , travelling all over Quebec including Montreal, Quebec City et al with no restrictions being placed on them are then coming to work in NB with absolutely no isolation or quarantine requirements. Are we really wondering why the outbreak in Zone 5 with a mentality such as that being displayed ? Really... this being aside from the rogue doctor incident..
David Amos
Matt Adams
I am done with this quarantine rule. Professionals that should be are not and allowed to get away with it. I have not seen family and friends outside this province in months and that will now change and I am not locking down when I come up. The precedent has been set and there is no consistency with how the rule is implemented.
David Amos
Speaking of Charter violations l wonder if Higgy is going to pay back the property tax to the property owners for the time they weren't allowed to enjoy their property?
We use those rural doctors to be able to tele-health into whatever hospital is the busiest at that time, to quickly help those patients who are lower triaged to be able to get them out of the outpatients as soon as possible. Centralized hospitals - especially in a pandemic - is not good. Look at the Campbellton hospital that had to shut down due to an outbreak and exposure. Look at Moncton hospital that had to close it's maternity ward due to rust contamination in the vents. Anything like this could happen at any hospital, and we'll be all better off if we can shift operations easily to another hospital in another region to help take the pressure off.
Shutting down hospitals is not going to solve anything. It will just shift problems around. We need to think smarter about how to provide better care to everyone in the province, not just rural or urban, but every NB citizen. Using tele-health is the future - and it's proved a valuable tool for this pandemic - but not all patients can be seen this way, and that's why each hospital still needs either a doctor or a nurse practitioner to help when emergencies happen. In an emergency minutes matter. Use those doctors smarter, by utilizing tele-health too.
Somebody from Fredericton talking about wasting taxpayers money.......now that is an oxymoron...
Tony Mcalbey
Will be interesting hearing higgys explanation on this
Leroy Mccarthy
Yes, right with Mr Higgs. The guy in charge is responsible to someone, that someone being Mr Higgs.
Then you get their attention by sending them down the road kicking stones.
at around 2400 big difference in number from N.B. don't you think ? Maybe two health authorities is the way to go...
David News
Boy oh boy, covid-19 is certainly bringing out the dirty laundry. Why are the health authorities bringing in doctors from out of province. We need to address the funding models and make sure that we have sufficient doctors in the province to deal with things like sickness or vacations. This is outrageous.
Will never happen. Our healthcare system is right jammed full of patronage appointments........... where would they be moved to?
If I told you "the numbers" here I would have to prove it, so do your own looking. Total up the number of "healers" in NB (doctors and nurses) subtract that number from the total number of employees of both health services. Figure out an acceptable percentage of additional employees (say 10%) and subtract that.
What are you left with?
On PEI there are 65 people employed by Health PEI for each "healer".
It's an Atlantic Canadian tradition.
Dave Shimla
OMG!! when will all this stupidity stop?
Tristin Time
This is NB. Try never.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-outbreak-roundup-1.5604286
N.B. COVID-19 roundup: New travel-related case in Moncton area
This brings the number of total active cases up to 25
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 09, 2020 1:29 PM AT
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, said residents living in the Campbellton area shouldn't travel to other parts of the province unless it's essential. (Government of New Brunswick)
New Brunswick Public Health is reporting one new case of COVID-19 in the Moncton region, bringing the total number of active cases to 25.
The new case is travel-related and involves an individual between 20 and 29.
"After three months, it can be easy to forget to keep doing the simple things like distancing, washing your hands frequently, and covering coughs or sneezes, but these are the most important tools we have in preventing the spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health.
147 cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick
There have been 147 cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick. Since the virus first broke out in March, 121 people have recovered, including one related to the outbreak in the Campbellton region, where there has been a cluster of COVID-19 cases.There has been one death related to the respiratory virus this past month.
Five patients are hospitalized with one in an intensive care unit.
As of today, 34,814 tests have been conducted, according to public health.
Campbellton residents should only travel for essentials
People in the Campbellton region should only travel to other parts of the province for essential services, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health says.The Campbellton region, also known as Zone 5, has seen a cluster of COVID-19 cases over the past few weeks, after a doctor travelled to Quebec for personal reasons and did not self-isolate after returning home to the area.
"It is not ideal for people travelling for non-essential reasons," said Dr. Jennifer Russell during an interview with Information Morning Fredericton.
Russell said government isn't restricting people's movement within the province.
Instead, they're relying on an honour system. New Brunswick borders are being patrolled and many travellers receive a follow-up visit or phone call.
"We can't police everything," she said.
Over the weekend, Dooly's in Fredericton announced it was closing after a customer came into the pub who wasn't self-isolating after visiting Quebec.
"We're really relying on the good will and the good judgment of the people of New Brunswick.
Farmers call on Ottawa to help with rotting potatoes
New Brunswick farmers want Ottawa to speed up a program that would relieve farmers from some of the impact from the COVID-19 outbreak.Last month, Ottawa announced a $50-million Surplus Food Purchase Program. But farmers say there hasn't been any real follow up since and "millions of pounds of potatoes are sitting in storage and starting to rot."
"We need to finally settle with the province and federal government so that we can dispose of these potatoes now," said Matt Hemphill, executive director of Potatoes New Brunswick in a news release last week.
"That could mean turning them to cattle feed or creating more freezer capacity to get them processed into french fries or donating to food banks. But the reality is we need help and support to do that, and the government has yet to make any tangible move in the right direction."
The produce-driven organization also said the closure of restaurants and bars across the country has meant a drastic drop in the number of people ordering plates of french fries. For potato farmers, this resulted in the equivalent of 700 transport truckloads of potatoes in surplus in New Brunswick alone.
Richard Strang, CEO of Strang's Produce in Malden, almost 20 kilometres northeast of Port-Elgin, said government needs to remember farmers are working with perishable food items.
"The longer they delay, the greater the risk of spoilage and the increased chance we have to deal with potato blight in addition to the surplus.
Strang said this could have a severe impact on farm jobs, processing plants, grocery stores and the restaurant industry.
What to do if you have symptoms
People concerned they might have COVID-19 can take a self-assessment on the government website at gnb.ca.Public Health says symptoms shown by people with COVID-19 have included: a fever above 38 C, a new cough or worsening chronic cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, new onset of fatigue, new onset of muscle pain, diarrhea, loss of sense of taste or smell, and difficulty breathing. In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.
People with two of those symptoms are asked to:
- Stay at home.
- Call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor.
- Describe symptoms and travel history.
- Follow instructions.
190 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks Higgy et al know why the Minister of Health''s spin doctor Bruce Macfarlane is gonna enjoy his voicemail when he gets back from lunch N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks Higgy et al are no doubt enjoying my emails today N'esy Pas?
Janice small
Jen and Blaine as you are aware this virus isn't going away anytime soon as you both have told us time and time again.. We all get it, we are all social distancing and all NB'ers have put their lives , families and careers and jobs on hold..We have lost many small and big companies and many people are dealing with metal health issues from the isolation that was enforced on us...Our credit ratings have taken a beaten as many have delayed car payments, rent and mortage payments.. Contrary to what the banks say they report to Credit Score companies and all have taken a hit on their credit score and postponed payments are record as late payments.. In a nut shell it will cost many NB'S a higher interest rate to borrow if they will even qualify. As this virus lives with us don't panic or backtrack !!! It's political sucide for you both to backtrack as as the support and great results you have achieved are still their.. Again we knew it's going to come and go with hot spots here and their in the Province.. Good work be patient as all NB'ERS have benn and lets work through this as we wait for a vaccine.
Sarah Brown
We loosen restrictions for those inside borders, by keeping those who come in from areas where the virus is out of control, quarantined. Soon two areas can "bubble up" like NB and PEI if we keep it out of the community and isolated just to travel related cases that are contained because they isolated upon entry.
I'll ask this again, because I am really interested:
Let's do a thought experiment. The places where Ebola broke out, should those individuals been allowed to freely travel, no restrictions, any where in the world that they wanted? Should "rights and civil liberties" be temporarily suspended for those where Ebola was spreading for the greater good, so that Ebola could be contained and prevented from being able to spread freely to the rest of the world? Are you against border restrictions and quarantines under all circumstances, or just when it personally impacts you?
Mary - This is not Ebola. Every decision should be made in the light of what we face not what we might have faced. Again, the same question, though. When will you accept risks and what risks will you tolerate.
Reply to @John Oliver: Methinks you have said more than enough about taking risks N'esy Pas?
Marco Bernardo
We have been making too many exceptions at the border and infected people have been coming into our province. Some people have broken the self-isolation rules, like that guy in the Grande-Digue region. The guy in Fredericton obviously didn't bother to isolate before going to Dooly's. What about this person in Moncton? Yea, now we have to worry about cottage people skirting the rules. There have been relentless complaints about movement and travel, and I guess that they ultimately got their way. Now the residents of New Brunswick can no longer have peace of mind as we "open up" because a person with the SARS CoV 2 virus could be right next to them. Talk about blight encroaching into our "Oasis." This really sucks, and I feel for the seniors in Campbellton. I truly hope that other seniors, our Mothers, Fathers and Grand Parents, and people with medical conditions, can remain safe.
This was updated, it appears as if they had been isolating for 14 days, so here's hoping they did a proper quarantine, but they're working on contact tracing now. It seems promising, but that shouldn't change our behaviour in any way. We should still assume it could be anywhere in NB, because we have had that Campbellton outbreak and those contacts of that outbreak DID travel outside of their region, so it could be spreading through the community right now, but we just don't know it yet.
That Grande-Digue case was awful though. And that Dooly's case (I believe it was a woman, but I could be wrong). Selfish.
I am very concerned about cottagers. I hope they follow the public health rules and absolutely quarantine as they should. We're like crows here - we have a long memory. If someone comes in and doesn't quarantine, we'll remember - especially if they cause an outbreak like the doctor - whether they're sick or not isn't the point, the point is to act as if they are - because they could be.
Proactive quarantine prevents the chains of transmission and keeps the community safe. If they're not sick, the community will welcome them with open arms, knowing they're healthy and well, and thankful that they showed them respect and showed them that they cared about their health and well being. Respecting NB'ers. Proactive isolation is better than reactively trying to contain an outbreak.
It's beneficial for everyone involved -- if you're sick, wouldn't you want to be the only sick person so you get the best treatment and care? If you spread it to your entire community, you're going to get subpar treatment because everyone is ill all at the same time. Hospitals collapse, staff ill, not the best scenario. But if you're sick, and you quarantined, and if you need help to get you through Covid-19, your odds are much better if you're the only one needing treatment - you could have the whole Covid-19 ward to yourself. Quarantining doesn't have to be just altruistic, it's good for the community and the quarantinee.
Carlson MacKenzie
The Flat Earth Society is looking for new members I hear. Some here would fit right in. Hell, maybe they're already members!
David Amos
Reply to @Carlson MacKenzie: Methinks some folks believe in heaven and hell and others believe we reside on Turtle island. Others claim we are riding on the back of a turtle and there are many turtles all the way down below it. I am not religious guy but i do agree that this is a problem of infinite regress that has put many in much distress. I know for a fact that democracy and justice are myths yet I still have faith in mankind.. Its hard telling not knowing for sure whose philosophy is correct but we all cannot deny that we are locked down in Higgy's Police State today Perhaps we should relax and enjoy Higgy's circus because New Brunswick with all its faults is still a very fine place to live within this wonderful old world N'esy Pas?
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @David Amos:
Like sand running in an hourglass we are, each and every, one of us might at one time, or another, be asked when time ran out and NB becane not so fine a place.
We may just be witnessing the beginning of the end.
David Amos
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @David Amos:
I am not originally from here. It is the Atlantic Canada lament. The young ones of any account get educated and leave (or leave and get educated), the ones who return prey on the leavings like sharks. The governments are sucking too high a percentage out of the economy, and the sharks are stashing their take offshore. It is a situation destined to fail.
I saw (and was impressed by) some gipsy vardos I saw in Europe and find very little keeping me here, so I may just build one, and take my antique self on the road. My very own antiques roadshow.
David Amos
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: Head south? You mean move into whoever your mooching froms basement for the winter? Best of luck with that Medicare and Harley mission. I know your arguing lawyer skills have gotten you this far!
David Amos
Greg Miller
Why are we backsliding? We were doing almost as well as P.E.I. but now we're no where close to their success. Are we simply less compliant and perhaps less considerate?
Bottom line:
Our "secured borders" are full of holes.
They do have an airport (actually 2), there is a ferry to NS, there is also a ferry to the Magdalen islands (Que).
Jeff LeBlanc
To anyone who says social distancing is dead, come try to invade my space in the supermarket and see what happens. You won't like it.
Bruce Sanders
No sweat, let's open up everything now. 5 people in the hospital, nowhere straining the system. Of the tests completed to date 99.6% DO NOT have the virus. Now that we know asymptomatic people cannot spread the virus, the pandemic is over.
Ian Scott
This explains the very low infection rate.
A non-peer-reviewed study from Germany in May based on 919 people in the district of Heinsberg — which had among the highest death tolls from COVID-19 in Germany — found that about one in five of those infected were symptomless.
I could find 919 people who believe in aliens and/or a flat earth.
Reply to @John Oliver: Methinks no matter what you claim in whatever name you opt to use you are far from done N'esy Pas?
Tristin Time
Simple, selfish person from Fredericton who didn't self-isolate after a visit to Quebec causing a business to temporarily close. They should be fined, period. If people don't abide these simple rules, martial law will take effect. I'd rather voluntarily abide by these simple guidelines rather they be imposed. Relying on, quote: "the good will and the good judgment of the people" is overshadowed by a few bad apples believing the state of emergency does not apply to them. Readers need to understand we're only a few positive test cases to go back in the red!
Tristin Time
Dan Stewart
Reply to @Bruce Sanders: So you spent your day asking people's opinions on the topic?
mabel short
or think of Albertans who are born new brunswickers...and who drive for miles if a grocery or other stores bring in maritime grown potatoes....dont let the potatoes rot!!!
Or think about the poor farmer, the guy who chooses to buy seed potatoes, rather than cut his unsold potatoes for seed, hoping for a big government win.
Reply to @David Amos:
Yes.
David Amos
Life and death are the two sides of the same coin.
For a fella who figured he would never see 35, this is not my first rodeo, and may not be my last.
Each and every religion tells us that when you put your wings on, and leave this place, next stop is a better place.
Thank you.
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos:
I graduated high school in 1969 in a place called Dundas Ontario, in a school that had 2500 students. There are no longer any year reunions I am the only one left. My first wife battled cancer for 22 years, liver disease got this one, mighty quick, less than 3 months from the first sign.
David Amos
June Arnott
Win the wAr and wear a mask, no gun required
David Amos
Reply to @June Arnott: Wow. You really said that.
Lou Bell
Well done Premier Higgs and Dr. Russell ! Masks , isolating , social distancing have really been the key factor in containing the disease . Unfortunately though we can't fix stupid and those are the ones we need to watch out for !
Reply to @June Arnott: Methinks you should tell the rest of us who are the folks you ladies are referring to N'esy Pas?
Lou Bell
Reply to @David Amos: The naysayers ! There , NEXT !!
Joseph Vacher
Reply to @Lou Bell: too many in this province
Tony Mcalbey
"After three months, it can be easy to forget to keep doing the simple things like distancing, washing your hands frequently, and covering coughs or sneezes, but these are the most important tools we have in preventing the spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health.
Looks like closed borders and masks aren’t the tools to contain the virus.
Lou Bell
Reply to @David Amos: Ah " Butter Tarts " ! How's Martha ???
Here comes the same old , same old ! " N'esy Pas " / " Surprise , Surprise " / " Methinks Higgy " / " Cardy and his Butter Tarts " / " I'm sure Higgy remembers me " and " Methinks " !!! And nothing more !
https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
Methinks Higgy is gonna try herding cats again at the circus in Fat Fred City tomorrow while Holland Urquhart and Cardy to name but a few of his crew of clowns partake of too many butter tarts as usual N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/06/methinks-higgys-circus-must-go-on-and.html
#nbpoli #cdnpoli
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-coronavirus-pandemic-outbreak-roundup-1.5602783
N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Record 9 new cases of virus in Campbellton region
There are 24 active cases in the province, all in Zone 5
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 08, 2020 12:20 PM AT
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, said eight of the new active cases are connected to a long-term care facility in Atholville. Another case is being investigated by New Brunswick Public Health. (Government of New Brunswick/Submitted)
New Brunswick Public Health has announced nine new cases of COVID-19 in the Campbellton region.
This brings the total number of active cases in the province to 24.
"This is the largest number of cases recorded in a single day in New Brunswick," said Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health at Monday's news briefing.
Eight of the new cases are linked to Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville.
The long-term care home has experienced an outbreak of the virus after one of its workers had contact with the Campbellton doctor who travelled to Quebec for personal reasons and did not self-isolate.
There are nine new active cases of COVID-19 in the Campbellton region, also known as Zone 5. (CBC News)
Russell said residents of the long-term care facility are monitored everyday for symptoms of COVID-19. Staff are continuing to be tested regardless of symptoms.
The one case that was reported elsewhere in Zone 5 is being investigated and Russell said contact tracing is underway.
The new cases are:
- two individuals between 60 and 69
- four individuals between 70 and 79
- an individual between 80 and 89; and
- two individuals above the age of 90.
Patients strongly support virtual care — even after virus subsides
A new poll conducted by the New Brunswick Medical Society suggests 77 per cent of respondents are in favour of virtual care even after COVID-19 is over.Many health-care services in the province were temporarily shut down after the COVID-19 outbreak started in March. This forced the provincial government and the New Brunswick Medical Society to expand virtual health-care access for patients.
"It was meant as a temporary measure to support the health of New Brunswickers during the pandemic, but it's clear that patients see value in maintaining virtual care in the province," said a news release Monday from the New Brunswick Medical Society.
As of today, the province said 34,400 tests have been conducted. And more than 300 people are self-isolating and monitoring their symptoms as a result of contact tracing, Public Health is also checking in with these individuals each day.
"Given COVID-19's 14-day incubation period, we realize that new cases can and will appear," Russell said.
Eight new cases of COVID-19 in the Campbellton region have been linked to the Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville. (Serge Bouchard/Radio-Canada)
"It may be a week or more before we can say with certainty that the virus is not present in other regions of New Brunswick from this outbreak. It is so important that all New Brunswickers remain vigilant against the spread of COVID-19."
Ottawa eases border restrictions
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will "allow immediate family members of citizens or permanent residents to come to Canada" provided they can isolate for 14 days.The Canada Border Services Agency said the exemption will kick in at midnight.
Premier Blaine Higgs has been skeptical about the federal government's plans to reopen the border with the U.S.
He said Monday, he's looking for refined details and what the application process might look like for families trying to come into New Brunswick, so he can notify provincial border authorities.
He said it also has to be well-defined that travellers have a place they can self-isolate for 14 days.
"It's not unexpected, it is trying to unite families the same as we've done throughout the rest of Canada and provide once again, a social environment under the new COVID rules."
Officials with New Brunswick's Department of Public Safety are continuing to monitor provincial borders.
On Sunday, Higgs said 69 vehicles were denied entry into New Brunswick. There have also been 35 non-compliance calls into the province's information line
The calls related to concerns of residents failing to self-isolate, people not respecting physical distancing and businesses not following guidelines.
Higgs said officials have been checking on residents with either a visit or a phone call.
"People need to understand we can and will check up," he said.
Emergency department set to reopen at Campbellton Regional Hospital
The Campbellton Regional Hospital will open its emergency department at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Vitalité Health Network announced.The hospital's emergency department has been closed since the end of May, and all non-urgent or elective health-care services were cancelled due to the high risk of transmission of COVID-19.
"The facility's Emergency Department will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week starting tomorrow," announced Gilles Lanteigne, president and CEO of the Network.
"We have enough nurses and doctors to move to a full reopening of this service."
Ambulatory care services and non-urgent elective surgeries will be able to resume gradually over the next few days.
Patients strongly support virtual care — even after virus subsides
A new poll conducted by the New Brunswick Medical Society suggests 77 per cent of respondents are in favour of virtual care even after COVID-19 is over.Many health-care services in the province were temporarily shut down after the COVID-19 outbreak started in March. This forced the provincial government and the New Brunswick Medical Society to expand virtual health-care access for patients.
"It was meant as a temporary measure to support the health of New Brunswickers during the pandemic, but it's clear that patients see value in maintaining virtual care in the province," said a news release Monday from the New Brunswick Medical Society.
In the poll, which was conducted by Narrative Research of Halifax, four in 10 respondents in New Brunswickers had a virtual care appointment during the pandemic, and the majority of these were satisfied with the experience.
However, a large majority of respondents also said they would not pay for virtual care if it was not covered by Medicare.
"Virtual care is a tremendous tool for improving access to primary health care," said Dr. Chris Goodyear, president of the New Brunswick Medical Society and a general surgeon in Fredericton.
"While not a substitute for an in-person visit, virtual care adds flexibility for physicians and patients when an in-person visit is not required. It also cuts down on the economic and environmental costs of travel and is helpful for patients who are unable to travel."
Dr. Chris Goodyear, president of the New Brunswick Medical Society, says virtual care has been helping improve New Brunswick's health-care system, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. (New Brunswick Medical Society/Twitter)
Since March, many patients with family doctors have been receiving care and advice over the phone or through a secure video-chat software.
These measures also apply to specialists, and for mental health services, it has been authorized for psychiatrists.
Narrative Research conducted a random telephone survey with 400 New Brunswick adults between May 7 and May 20. Results are considered accurate to within plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Dooly's closes after travelling customer didn't self-isolate
Over the weekend, Dooly's in Fredericton announced it was closing after a customer came into the pub and wasn't self-isolating after visiting Quebec.In order to keep residents safe, Premier Blaine Higgs said it's crucial travellers self-isolate for 14 days once they return home to New Brunswick. (Government of New Brunswick/Submitted)
"She is currently being tested and awaiting results," the business said in a Facebook post Saturday.
"Out of an over-abundance of caution, we have decided to close this location until we have confirmed test results."
The Queen Street pub said it's disinfecting and sanitizing every surface in the building for the safety of customers.
At Monday's news briefing, Premier Blaine Higgs said the 14 day self-isolation rule has been put in place to protect New Brunswickers from contracting the virus.
A Dooly's pub in Fredericton was forced to close over the weekend after a customer came in who was supposed to be self-isolating after a trip from Quebec. (Facebook)
"This kind of behaviour is not acceptable and puts us all at risk," he said.
The Department of Public Safety is currently investigating the incident.
Masks aren't mandatory in public buildings
The New Brunswick government has backtracked on a decision announced last week to make wearing masks mandatory for people enter any buildings open to the public.The new rule was set to come into effect on Tuesday, but the province scrapped the precaution just one day after it was announced.
"It was not intended to put a mask on everybody who walked in the door. It was intended that everyone would have a mask with them so they were able to put it on when needed," said Premier Blaine Higgs.
"The concerns were once you get inside, if you don't have a mask with you, you can't do much about it."
The province continues to say people must wear masks if they are in a public space where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
"When you leave home, carry a mask with you so you can always put it on if needed," Higgs said.
Campobello Island Ferry to start up on June 15
The Campobello Island Ferry will start up again on June 15. The seasonal ferry is a direct connection the island has to New Brunswick's mainland.For most of the year the ferry isn't operational, so residents have to travel through Maine, more than an hour's drive from the border at St. Stephen.
But since the Canada-U.S. border closed in March, travel has been challenging for island residents.
"It's a lot of things people take for granted not living on Campobello," said Justin Tinker, chair of Accessible Campobello, who also grew up on the island.
Island residents can travel to the mainland for essential services and avoid the 14-day quarantine.
But the Canada Border Services Agency says a 14-day quarantine is required for anyone entering the country.
"This applies even if no stops were made along the way, as transiting through the United States still constitutes international travel," the agency said in an emailed statement to Radio-Canada.
"Exemptions to quarantine requirements for residents of Campobello Island are for specific reasons, such as transiting through the U.S. to obtain essential goods and services. Leisure travel through the United States is not one of the exemptions to the requirement to quarantine."
Tinker said trips off the island to get gas or other essentials in Maine can't be combined with trips to the mainland for medical appointments.
"While the rest of the province opens up, we cannot take part," said Taylor Paul-Davidson in a letter to Premier Blaine Higgs.
"We cannot visit our families, go fishing, camping, go to our second properties, enjoy provincial parks or trails all because to get off of Campobello Island we have to travel through the United States."
Tinker said the establishment of a permanent ferry to the mainland is key during the COVID-19 pandemic, and once the virus has subsided.
"It's an incredible disadvantage and competitive disadvantage that the island faces."
Codiac Transpo alters schedule to protect passengers
What to do if you have symptoms
People concerned they might have COVID-19 can take a self-assessment on the government website at gnb.ca.Public Health says symptoms shown by people with COVID-19 have included: a fever above 38 C, a new cough or worsening chronic cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, new onset of fatigue, new onset of muscle pain, diarrhea, loss of sense of taste or smell, and difficulty breathing. In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.
People with two of those symptoms are asked to:
- Stay at home.
- Call Tele-Care 811 or their doctor.
- Describe symptoms and travel history.
- Follow instructions.
207 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Go Figure
Ray Oliver: Reply to @Harvey York: "His went "poof" as he likes to say. Darn. "
David Amos
"Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province's chief medical officer of health, says she can't reveal if Chantel Moore's family received a compassionate exemption to the interprovincial travel ban and the mandatory 14-day isolation requirement"
Yea Right
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @David Amos:
CYA surprises you?
Tony Mcalbey
doug kirby
Reply to @David Amos: well at least NB didn’t freak out at this family I was nervous that would happen
Lou Bell
Reply to @David Amos: Surprise ! Surprise !!! Let the bells ring out and the banners fly !!
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @doug kirby:
Why nervous? The whole lot of them should be in the cooler and paying BIG fines.
Democracy is based on one law for all, no exceptions, except in NB.
doug kirby
Terry Tibbs
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province's chief medical officer of health, said public heath will make compassionate exemptions to the interprovincial travel ban and the 14-day mandatory self isolation requirement, but would not say if Moore's family has received this exemption.
I can't decide if it is a matter of more secrets (like the Penthouse magazines an adolescent male hides under their bed), or if the whole isolation/closed border thing is purely political. Come on Dr Russell, you can tell us, the adults in the room who pay your wages should be told.
How about this Dr Russell: My partner died back in March. If I suggest (not prove) that her death was caused by years of your employer short funding health care (how do you prove a simple truth: like the grass is green and the sky is blue). We were both born in Canada. Will you give me an "exemption" for her relatives to fly in, not self isolate, ignore social distancing, and allow a large gathering, so that we can plant her? OH! Do you *think* I would be surprised by a "no"?
Alison Jackson
Social media: The scourge of mankind, where everyone is a doctor, lawyer, a scientist and civil engineer with zero training. Where everything is a conspiracy and everyone can be forcibly shoved into a non-stop parade of shaming over anything.
Ronald Parker
Where were all of the "authorities" when Chantel Moore's family arrived at YFC and did not isolate, and did not social distance, and were not wearing PPE. And how is this "essential" travel given all the others that have been turned away.
Tony Mcalbey
MacKenzie King
I think the government has done a great job in handling the virus, but I was appalled when I watched the story on CBC last night about Ms. Moore's family coming here from BC. I don't know why they were allowed into the province. We have a case ready to proceed to the courts by a white women in BC who was denied entry to NB when her mother died. I feel this was the right decision, but to now let others in for the same circumstances is inexcusable. And, in the video provided in the story, they were not self-isolating, social-distancing or wearing masks. This is simply ridiculous.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks Higgy is gonna try herding cats again at the circus in Fat Fred City tomorrow while Holland, Urquhart and Cardy to name but a few of his crew of clowns partake of far too many butter tarts as usual N'esy Pas?
Lou Bell
Content disabled
Reply to @David Amos: Martha Stewart ! Martha bakes your butter tarts ! This isn't a cooking story ! What's next ? Pizzagate ???
David Amos
Leslie Russell
David Amos
Content disabled
Reply to @Leslie Russell: Me Too
SarahRose Werner
"However, a large majority of respondents said they would not pay for virtual care if it was not covered by Medicare." - I didn't do the survey myself, but this is exactly how I would have answered. I greatly enjoyed my phone chat with my GP this past May, but if it costs me money to talk to her on the phone and I can walk 15 minutes to see her in person for free, I'd rather put my shoes on and start walking. I don't see why phone and video visits can't be covered by Medicare. The rule about the patient having to be physically in the office is outdated.
David Amos
Reply to @SarahRose Werner: Do Tell Does the Queen get the joke too???
Reply to @SarahRose Werner: Ask Doug ! He thinks he has all the answers !
"The new rule was set to come into effect on Tuesday, but the province scrapped the precaution just one day after it was announced.
"It was not intended to put a mask on everybody who walked in the door. It was intended that everyone would have a mask with them so they were able to put it on when needed," said Premier Blaine Higgs.
"The concerns were once you get inside, if you don't have a mask with you, you can't do much about it."
The province continues to say people must wear masks if they are in a public space where physical distancing cannot be maintained.
"When you leave home, carry a mask with you so you can always put it on if needed," Higgs said."
It turns out that what I had thought was their intent, was their intent. They should have explained it like this to begin with, but apparently people couldn't comprehend the full statement and thought you'd have to eat food through your mask - which is absurd - they aren't trying to make it impossible on people.
Once inside, you can sit at a table that's away from others and enjoy a meal, while maintaining distance from others because the tables are spread out. You don't need to wear a mask with friends or family, and that's who you'd be sitting with. This will make contact tracing so much easier, because the only people you'll be directly interacting with, you'll know who they are if contact tracing needs to take place.
They just want people to have a mask with them when they leave their home and go through public spaces, so if they need to wear a mask once inside a building because they cannot maintain physical distance once inside - they can - because they have one with them and carry on. No excuses because you have it with you when you're out and about in public, like you do your keys or wallet.
Tony Mcalbey
Reply to @Mary Smith: Do tell Do you still think I am Tony Baby?
Lou Bell
Reply to @Tony Mcalbey: He , like most others , has no idea who you are or even care .
Marco Bernardo
So we now know of the foolish doctor, the Dooly's customer and a guy in Shediac region that all have disregarding the self-isolation rules. This is why we have had to be tough about our borders, because foolish people will continue to bring SARS CoV 2 into our province and affect the safety and restrictions on our daily life here. People are in hospital that didn't need to be and one died already. We have to keep better control of all of these border exceptions and really need to clamp down on people doing the self-isolation if they are an exception that is moving, or coming back, into our province.
Tony Mcalbey
James Smythe
Hasn’t anyone told all of you, that there’s a new crisis-du-jour in town now? This pandemic thing is soooooo last month.
Reply to @Timothy Kelley: Methinks Higgy et al should be Happy Happy Happy that you dudes are enjoying the circus Tomorrow I hear that he is gonna try his hand at herding cats in the legislature while Holland, Carr, Urquhart, Norhrup, Wetmore, Oliver, Fitch and Cardy (to name but a few) partake of far too many butter tarts as usual N'esy Pas?
Robert Langue
Still don't know where in Quebec the good doctor went to, and how many stops he made along the way. Jacques Poitras should get on the case!
Donald Gallant
Exactly.
Reply to @Lou Bell: Methinks you have partaken of far too many of your own butter tarts and its way past time for your nap However Higgy has you posting spin overtime before the circus in Fat Fred City begins again tomorrow N'esy Pas?
Donald Gallant
There needs to be a Co- Pay for this service.
That may help take care of the problem of frivolous medical issues overloading the system.
.
My father used to tell me “ Money does not grow on Trees “
Joseph Vacher
Reply to @SarahRose Werner: because 1 in 5 people dont show up for their appointments in NB
Tony Mcalbey
Methinks Higgy explain to us why family members as of midnight tonight can come into NB from other countries but can’t come into the province from within Canada. A spouse living in Boston can cross the border at houlton tonight but a grandparent in Amherst can’t venture across the ns/nb provincial border after midnight tonight to see a grandchild in sackville NB.
Wayne Wright
Reply to @Timothy Kelley: Obviously neither of you don't know anything about my family
David Amos
Content disabled
Reply to @Ray Oliver: Methinks your lawyer or your RCMP buddies should have advised you not to state such things AGAIN N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Content disabled
Reply to @Tony Mcalbey: Methinks Higgy et al find it funny that I can't visit my grandchildren in Amherst N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: Methinks you posted it for all to see and I clearly am stating what I read. Public knowledge now that you post all.. good or bad. It's there to read not for me to make up from thin air!
David Amos
Reply to @Ray Oliver: Methinks you are bragging about what you and your fellow RCMP shills posted about my family and I all over the internet since 2005 trust that i saved every word the 4 Chan malice is worth a fortune N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: I just thought you'd be happy someone actually read your blog. Attention seeking links to it finally paid off Davey Boy
Harvey York
Ray Oliver
Reply to @Harvey York: His went "poof" as he likes to say. Darn.
David Amos
Reply to @Harvey York: Methinks you should google your own name and mine sometime N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: And the purpose behind that would be???
https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
Methinks even though most of the political minions won't mention my words until after CBC makes them evaporate they cannot deny the title of this article is almost identical to June 2nd N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/06/methinks-higgys-circus-must-go-on-and.html
#nbpoli #cdnpoli
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid19-campbellton-long-term-care-new-case-1.5602242
1 new case of COVID-19 linked to long-term care facility
4 of 15 active cases in province are in hospital
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 07, 2020 1:35 PM AT
Another case of COVID-19 in the Campbellton region has been linked to the Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville. (Serge Bouchard/Radio-Canada)
The new case is a person in their 90s linked to the Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville.
The long-term care facility has experienced an outbreak of the virus after one of its workers had contact with the Campbellton doctor who travelled to Quebec for personal reasons and did not self-isolate.
The news release from public health does not say if the 90-year-old is a resident of the facility.
Four people who tested positive for the virus are in hospital, but none of the active cases are in intensive care.
All of New Brunswick active cases are in the Campbellton region, or Zone 5.
To date, 33,716 tests have been conducted and 121 people have recovered from the coronavirus.
Daniel Ouellette, a resident at Manoir de la Vallée, died earlier this week from COVID-19. He is the only person to die from the virus in New Brunswick so far.
On Saturday evening, Dooly's in Fredericton posted on Facebook that it is shutting down its Queen Street location temporarily after someone who visited Quebec and didn't self-isolate entered the pool hall. Dooly's could not be reached for comment on Sunday.
All areas of New Brunswick except Campbellton are in the yellow phase of recovery, which involves slowly reopening businesses, restaurants, offices and recreational facilities.
89 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks the title of this article is almost identical to the one on June 2nd Deja Vu N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Content disabled
Reply to @David Amos: I knew ya heard things but you see them too? Uh oh
David Amos
Graeme Scott
That Covid would manage to get into a nursing home in NB was probably inevitable. Sad, but inevitable.The flu takes a significant toll on the elderly in care homes every year but we just tend not to pay it any attention unless it affects us personally. These populations are frail , often have multiple underlying medical issues and are living in conditions very conducive to transmission of whatever comes along.
That is pure fiction. He never promised that every single person would be safe from covid. That is preposterous.
David Amos
Content disabled
Reply to @Graham MacNab: Methinks its interesting that most of the minions won't mention me until after my words evaporate N'esy Pas?
Graeme Scott
Reply to @SarahRose Werner: If it hadn't been that reason it would have been something else. All the containment measures are merely a numbers game to improve the odds. None are foolproof and none work 100%. An realistic goal was never to stop Covid but rather control the overall numbers and the speed of the spread.
Marc Bourque
We all know who is responsible also ...............
Rod Keh
Dan Stewart
Reply to @Tony Mcalbey: A virus that kills people?
Fred Brewer
Reply to @Rod Keh: "It takes years to do that kind of assessment."
You are speaking as if you have a degree in medicine specializing in organ damage.
FACT: doctors have noted permanent lung damage and fibrosis in patients recovering from severe bouts of covid. Google it if you still don't believe me.
https://twitter.com/DavidRayAmos/with_replies
David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
Methinks the stink coming from Higgy's circus tent will no doubt get worse as the days get longer and hotter and the clowns within his Police State keep embarrassing him N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2020/06/methinks-higgys-circus-must-go-on-and.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-long-term-care-facility-campbellton-1.5595109
1 new COVID-19 case detected in Atholville long-term care facility
One more person admitted to hospital, bringing the number hospitalized to five
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 02, 2020 2:42 PM AT
The Manoir de la Vallée in Atholville has an employee who tested positive for COVID-19, as well as five residents. (Serge Bouchard/Radio-Canada)
New Brunswick announced one new case of the respiratory infection Tuesday, linking it to the previous four resident cases detected in Manoir de la Vallée.
The new case is a person between 80 and 89 years of age, in Zone 5 or the Campbellton region, said a news release.
There are now 13 active cases of COVID-19 in the Campbellton region. Public Health has previously linked the outbreak to a doctor who travelled to Quebec and didn't self-isolate for the mandatory 14 days when he returned.
The other affected residents of Manoir de la Vallée include three people in their 80s and one in their 70s from the 18-bed Alzheimer's unit.
A staff member from the facility has also tested positive.
The province has conducted 30,666 COVID-19 tests to date, including 2,204 tests in the past 24 hours.
A provincial news release says if you or a member of your family are showing two of the following symptoms, contact Tele-Care 811 or your primary health-care provider for further direction:
- Fever above 38°C or signs of fever (such as chills).
- A new cough or worsening chronic cough.
- Sore throat.
- Runny nose.
- Headache.
- A new onset of fatigue.
- A new onset of muscle pain.
- Diarrhea.
- Loss of sense of taste or loss of sense of smell.
- In children, purple markings on the fingers or toes. In this instance, testing will be done even if none of the other symptoms are present.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
14 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks Higgy's Circus must go on and on and on N'esy Pas?
Bill Hamilton
This Dr is trying to make himself into the victim while both he and his wife are ignoring the travel restrictions. Interesting to see how the College of Physicians & surgeons responds to this.
Lou Bell
Lou Bell
Wait till the lineups for everything start, then ask..
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/peterborough-city-councillor-punished-1.5604339
Ontario councillor who took N.B. road trip loses positions
Stephen Wright travelled to New Brunswick to survey how restaurants were reopening
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 09, 2020 11:45 AM AT
Coun. Stephen Wright has apologized for his recent road trip, saying he was 'overzealous' when he decided to drive from Ontario to New Brunswick to see how restaurant reopenings were contributing to the provincial economy. (Stephen Wright/Twitter)
A city councillor from Peterborough, Ontario who made a controversial road trip to New Brunswick despite COVID-19 restrictions has been punished by his council colleagues.
They voted Monday night to remove him from his position as economic development vice-chair and from council's seat on the board of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce.
Coun. Stephen Wright apologized for the trip last week, saying he was "overzealous" when he decided to drive to New Brunswick to see how restaurant reopenings were contributing to the provincial economy
The trip provoked fury, especially among New Brunswickers living outside the province who weren't able to visit loved ones or travel home for the yfunerals of family members.
The Higgs government has since loosened border restrictions for such trips.
Ontario councillor offers his 'regrets'
Wright said in a statement last week that he understood the criticism and offered his "deepest regrets."He said the trip was his own initiative and he paid for it himself.
Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien introduced the motion to strip Wright of the two positions.
Last week she said his trip was "not reflective of city policy or what my office wants to see or [how] our councillors behave."
Premier Blaine Higgs said last week that Wright's decision did not 'seem like a legitimate reason' to travel to New Brunswick during the COVID-19 pandemic. (CBC)
The city council also voted to rescind its approval for Wright to run for a seat on the board of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Wright opposed the decisions.
The New Brunswick government said last week it was investigating how its enforcement officers at the border had screened Wright and decided to let him in.
"It does not seem like a legitimate reason to come into the province," Premier Blaine Higgs said last week.
19 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Surprise Surprise Surprise
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/stephen-wright-peteborough-councillor-road-trip-new-brunswick-1.5596602
Ontario councillor apologizes for 10-day road trip to New Brunswick
Stephen Wright travelled to New Brunswick to survey how restaurants were reopening
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 03, 2020 12:59 PM AT
Peterborough Coun. Stephen Wright apologized for travelling to New Brunswick amid the COVID-19 pandemic to see how restaurants were reopening. (Stephen Wright/Twitter)
A city councillor from Peterborough has apologized for his 10-day road trip to New Brunswick, calling it "an error in judgment."
Stephen Wright says in a written statement he is offering "my sincerest apologies" to Premier Blaine Higgs and New Brunswickers, especially those living outside the province who can't travel home to be with loved ones.
"I receive our criticisms and hope you accept my deepest regrets," he said.
He said his decision to travel here to look at the economic impact of restaurants reopening as part of a COVID-19 recovery plan represented an "overzealous approach … and for that I am truly sorry."
Wright said he would not do any interviews or comment further on the episode, which provoked the ire of New Brunswickers in light of the province's ban on non-essential travel.
Trip not sanctioned by city, says mayor
Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien told CBC News on Wednesday that the trip contradicted Petersborough's own pandemic advice to its citizens."Now is not the time to do any kind of fact-finding mission or any kind of travel," she said.
"We've been asking everybody to abide by staying at home, physical distancing … Certainly this behaviour is not reflective of what we're asking our residents to do and not reflective of city policy or what my office wants to see or our councillors behave."
Therrien repeated in the interview what she said in a emailed statement on Monday: "this was not a trip that was sanctioned by the city, or paid for, or known about."
Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien says the trip was not sanctioned by the city. (Twitter - @DianeNTherrien)
Wright said Monday he was paying for the trip himself.
He said in his statement Wednesday he takes his councillor role "very seriously and do not consider that to provide me with any special privileges."
Inconsistencies
The first-term councillor is involved with economic development issues in Peterborough and said he wanted to research how restaurants were faring in New Brunswick now that they were allowed to partially reopen.He said he made the trip in part because business groups he contacted ahead of time didn't respond to his questions on the subject.
But four business organizations told CBC News this week they had no record of Wright trying to contact them.
An initial report in the Peterborough Examiner described the trip as lasting one weekend and said Wright stayed in his car the entire time.
He told CBC News this week he was misunderstood because of a poor phone connection and the trip lasted 10 days. He said he stayed in a private home in the province, in a separate unit from the owner, and assessed restaurant reopenings from his car.
Peterborough Coun. Stephen Wright said he didn't go in any of the restaurants. (Submitted by Stephen Wright)
He would not say where exactly he stayed to avoid "shaming" of his New Brunswick acquaintance, he said Monday.
He arrived May 14 and left May 23.
Therrien said in a video interview via Zoom that Wright "is a very involved councillor. He takes a lot of initiative. I think that this was not the best judgment call, but he is alway very interested in what is happening in other places and how we might learn from them.
"But I think this was not obviously a good time or an opportune moment to learn anything about what's going on that couldn't be done over the phone or these types of platforms."
Therrien said she spoke Wednesday morning to Saint John Mayor Don Darling, one of the first to question Wright's trip.
She said Darling acknowledged that "as mayors we're not always totally in control of what councillors do" and told her it was time to "move past this now."
Wright said in the Peterborough Examiner report that he had talked his way into New Brunswick by discussing with enforcement officers whether the travel ban went against the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
New Brunswick officials are now investigating what the officers asked him and what answers he gave them.
"We are aware of Councillor Wright's apology letter, but his visit remains under investigation," said Public Safety spokesperson Geoffrey Downey.
102 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Methinks i am becoming like the old wisguy Higgy's minions tease me about because nothing surprises me anymore for instance Spin doctors claim I speak in riddles merely because they are too lazy to try to figure out why I tease Higgy and Cardy about their fondness to butter tarts N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver
Reply to @David Amos: The butter tarts? Again? The only time anyone has ever responded to you. Surely you're smart enough barely to know when you're being mocked nesy pas???
Fred Sanford
Sure smells like B S to me.
David Amos
David Amos
Content disabled
Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien should not deny the fact that i just called her office
Toph Beifong
Reply to @David Amos: What's your deal? Are you a lawyer. You're as litigious as an American!
Reply to @Toph Beifong: I sue lawyers
Reply to @David Amos: Oh!
Reply to @David Amos: Sorry. I think a lot of what you say has no meaning to most of us because it's always in code.
Reply to @Toph Beifong: I don't believe that is your real name so we are even Correct?
Reply to @David Amos: Surely you must understand in our irrational and illogical society why someone might wish to have their opinion stated without the name attached?
Reply to @Toph Beifong: Its against the rules of this domain which is financed by my taxes
Reply to @David Amos: would there be any reason for her to give a flying gig what you do?
Reply to @David Amos: It's just that whether we agree or disagree with you, most of us have no clue what you're talking about. Wouldn't you rather that we understand the meaning of your posts?
Reply to @David Amos: Ok Hall monitor!
Reply to @Stanley Beemish: Ask the lady if you dare
Reply to @Toph Beifong: Witty
Reply to @David Amos: Did she deny you called her office? On the other hand I don't recall anyone asking her about you so why would she...
Reply to @David Amos: Methinks she didn't answer just the same as every other unwanted call you place with advice that no one wants
Reply to @Helen Gorne: "Alas, you are wasting your time responding to this poster."
So You Say EH?
Reply to @David Amos: Had she answered what exactly would you have said? I'm curious as to why you think you're important enough to delve into everyone's business. You planning on sueing her? Might as well. Tie her into your giant con spir acy in your fascinating blog!!
Reply to @Ray Oliver: Methinks many folks are enjoying Higgy's circus today N'esy Pas?
Roland Stewart
Took the words right out of a Dr.'s mouth. Sounds like he's just messing with us.
Raymond Ridler
What a jacka - -.
David Amos
Dan Flanagan
What everyone wants to know is what areas of the province did he visit? Was he tested for the virus?
New Brunswickers have the right to know this. Sleeping in your car is one thing but everybody has to get food & use a bathroom.
JoeBrown
AB has an international airport and open borders with other provinces and their new cases have gone from 200 range a month ago to 13. This is not an out of control situation with massive new cases daily, so NB will be just fine if they forget about him peering through his windshield.
John Smith
I don't think the Province knows from one day to the next what the "rules" are so how can we expect strangers? I live here and I am still scratching my head. We allow temporary foreign workers in but not families who are grieving a loved one. The Province allows workers from Nova Scotia to come work on a mill shutdown, when we have skilled tradespersons here already and do NOT require them to self isolate. Like who is running this gong show???
The lunatics are running the asylum.
Douglas James
" Darling acknowledged that "as mayors we're not always totally in control of what councillors do" . Not always totally in control? Mr. Darling's confusion over democracy continues unabated.
David Amos
SarahRose Werner
Pretty much everyone who goes ahead and breaks a law does so after "judging" that their chances of getting caught are slim. In this sense, all crimes are errors of judgement. Should they all be excused on this basis?
The fact he paid for the entire trip on his own dime gives the clue that angry people prefer to ignore. Plus Therrien's testimony makes it a lot more plausible that he actually did just sit in his car rather than what angry posters are claiming - but that is because they have no facts, just conclusions.
Since there’s no spread of Covid 19 related to this individual’s travel, there’s not really much of a story here. Many persons who are not NB residents are travelling in and through New Brunswick. We’d prefer otherwise but our borders are not sealed in the absolute sense.
So, where did the sealed border untruth originate and why do they still have a job?
You only make errors in judgement when you lack education. As "you know who" is minister of education I would only expect errors of judgement to increase 10 fold in the coming years.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/nb-business-group-doubt-city-councillor-peterborough-1.5595286
Business groups have no record of Peterborough councillor asking for information
4 organizations have no record of any contact from Stephen Wright
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 02, 2020 4:52 PM AT |
Luc Erjavec, with the Canadian Restaurant and Food services Association, said his organization has no record of Peterborough city councillor Stephen Wright making contact with them. (CBC News)
Four New Brunswick business organizations are casting doubt on claims by a Peterborough city councillor that he sought information from groups like them before embarking on a 10-day road trip to the province.
Stephen Wright told CBC News on Monday that he tried to contact chambers of commerce and business associations ahead of time to see how restaurants were faring with reopening, to no avail.
"Those calls were made," he said. "They were never returned."
But four such organizations say they have no record of any such calls or emails.
"We've never heard from him," said Luc Erjavec, the Atlantic vice-president of Restaurants Canada.
"We're a phone call away, so we would have loved to have talked to him, shared our experiences, hooked him up with some operators to speak with. So no, we had not heard from him."
Similar answers came from two chambers of commerce in two cities Wright said he visited.
"I checked with all of our staff members and we do not have any record of Mr. Wright attempting to contact the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce via phone or email," said spokesperson Morgan Peters.
Sylvain Montreuil of the Greater Moncton Chamber of Commerce said he had checked three different chamber email accounts and "we didn't find any 'correspondence' from Mr. Wright."
Louis-Philippe Gauthier, director of provincial affairs for New Brunswick at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business had the same answer.
"We have no record of the councillor reaching out to us."
Questions continue about trip
Wright's 10-day trip to New Brunswick, from May 14 to 23, has sparked questions from political leaders and outrage on social media, given a ban on non-essential travel into the province due to COVID-19.The province has launched an investigation into what provincial enforcement officers asked Wright at the border and what he told them. That investigation is ongoing, Public Safety spokesperson Geoffrey Downey said Tuesday.
Premier Blaine Higgs has said the trip "does not seem like a legitimate reason to come into the province."
He won't say where he stayed or who he stayed with, but says by doing so, and by staying in his car when he did his research, he was complying with New Brunswick's requirement that new arrivals self-isolate for 14 days.
Peterborough Coun. Stephen Wright told CBC News he contacted business organizations in the province to find out information on how restaurants were doing after reopening. No groups have any record of any contact made by him. (Submitted by Stephen Wright)
The first-term councillor said he's involved with economic recovery efforts in Peterborough and wanted to see whether New Brunswickers were "now in a frame of mind that they were willing to go and do in-room dining" in restaurants.
He said he did "a lot of preliminary work" in advance to research the issue but was not able to get any responses from organizations representing restaurants.
He also said there's a difference between "getting something secondhand, or getting it firsthand."
Wright did not respond to a request for a follow-up interview Tuesday.
Information available
A border checkpoint on Route 120. An investigation is underway into how Peterborough city councillor, Stephen Wright was able to enter the province, which is not open to non-essential travel. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
Erjavec said he has plenty of information at his fingertips on how restaurants are faring now that they can reopen under the yellow phase of New Brunswick's recovery plan.
He says he surveys members regularly and also worked with the province to develop reopening guidelines, so he would have responded eagerly to a request from Wright.
"I'm talking to members on a daily basis and have a real feel for what's happening in the industry," he said.
Saint John Mayor Don Darling, one of the first to raise concerns about Wright's trip, says several parts of his story have not withstood scrutiny.
"Something is not adding up here. I think people are very angry about this particular case and one of these days, perhaps we'll find out what really happened."
Darling plans to speak to Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien on Wednesday. Therrien said in a statement Monday that the trip "was not at council's direction or the mayor's direction."
Wright said Monday the trip was his own initiative. He said he was paying for it himself and would not claim travel expenses.
Method of research questioned
Erjavec also questioned the way Wright says he went about his research while in the province. The councillor said Monday he didn't actually enter any restaurants."I didn't need to. There were ample amount of restaurants with parking stalls in front of the restaurant and you can look right in," he said.
"I drove past a Tim Horton's and there was one individual in that particular Tim Horton's and the drive-thru line was unbelievable."
Erjavec says judging a restaurant's success from its parking lot is not the best way to assess how it's doing.
"As a leader in his community, it's incumbent on him to get the facts, and you get the facts by asking questions, by talking to people, researching, and not just simply having a cursory glance," he said.
43 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks Mayor Don Darling, Sylvain Montreuil and Louis-Philippe Gauthier would deny that I ever contacted them as well. However many people know that I have been on TV with Chambers of Commerce people last fall and met the other two dudes in person in the past year Perhaps I should contact Luc Erjavec and Mr Wright to be fair to all and keep everyone on an even keel with Higgy and I N'esy Pas?
Stephen Robertson
Sorry councilor, but there is a distinct smell of male bovine droppings about your story.
David Amos
Reply to @Stephen Robertson: Methinks it smells a lot like Higgy's circus tent which no doubt get worse as the days get longer and hotter N'esy Pas?
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @David Amos:
Good job Mr Higgs!
I am really happy you have secured our borders.
Lou Bell
Reply to @Terry Tibbs: Mr. Higgs has the borders secured . it just appears someone at the border dropped the ball ! Lost in translation probably .
Donald Smith
Jos Allaire
Candidness has always been a rare attribute of politicians.
Lou Bell
Jim Cyr
This is crazy
.
David Amos
janice small
Oh boy he will have lots of attention...Won't be good attention..You can run but you can'y hide ..His story in New Brunswick is a changing moving target..
David Amos
David Amos
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-new-brunswick-ontario-border-councillor-1.5593332
Ontario councillor who took New Brunswick road trip claims he stayed in private home
Coun. Stephen Wright says he came here to assess restaurant reopenings
· CBC News · Posted: Jun 01, 2020 6:18 PM AT
Peterborough Coun. Stephen Wright said he didn't go in any of the restaurants. (Submitted by Stephen Wright)
A Peterborough, Ont., city councillor who entered New Brunswick despite COVID-19 border restrictions now says he stayed at the private home of an acquaintance in the province.
Stephen Wright told CBC News Monday afternoon that what he calls a research trip lasted 10 days and he decided to try it because of inconsistent answers from provincial officials about whether he would be admitted to the province.
"I erred on the side that that was information that I needed to find out in doing part of my job and [I] took the necessary precaution that I kept myself safe, and anybody that I ever would have come into contact with, safe as well."
An initial news report in the Peterborough Examiner newspaper described the road trip as lasting a weekend and quoted Wright saying he promised New Brunswick enforcement officers at the border that he would stay in his car during the entire trip.
But Wright told CBC Monday that he was misunderstood when he spoke to the paper about the length of the trip.
That was at the private residence of an acquaintance who had been working at home for several months, he said.
"I won't reveal where in the province I stayed because it seems there are enough people who want to do some public shaming. But no, I had friends who had made arrangements for a place for me," he said.
"Where I was staying, I had no contact with nobody else there, either," he added. He called it "a separate self-contained unit" apart from his acquaintance with "no shared living area or bathroom."
Provincial staff stop and question anyone entering the province as part of the effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)
Wright said he didn't tell enforcement officers at the border that he'd be staying at a private residence where someone was already living because "that question wasn't asked."
Wright is a member of a regional economic recovery task force in the Peterborough area and said he wanted to come to New Brunswick to see how restaurant reopenings were going.
He said Monday he did not enter any New Brunswick restaurants but assessed the success of their openings by looking at how many cars were in their parking lots and drive-thru line-ups.
He said he chose not to check downtown restaurants without parking lots.
Investigation underway
Premier Blaine Higgs said at a media briefing Sunday he wanted to know more about how Wright was allowed into the province, given a ban on non-essential visits."It is under full investigation because it does not seem like a legitimate reason to come into the province," he said. "We will evaluate just what questions were asked but more importantly what answers were given."
Public Safety spokesperson Geoffrey Downey said Monday afternoon the investigation is ongoing "and we will be reviewing our records and following up with the City of Peterborough to determine if this was work travel authorized by the City."
Trip not at council's direction
Ashley Webster, a spokesperson for Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien, said the trip "was not at council's direction or the mayor's direction" and the city didn't pay for it.Wright confirmed he paid for the trip himself. He said he has sometimes funded his own research into issues to get "the other side of the argument."
The deputy minister at the public safety department, Mike Comeau, said on Twitter Monday afternoon that crossing a border "often involves officers having to decide whether to believe what a person is telling them. It's inherent to border control."
'Beyond disrespectful'
News of Wright's trip frustrated New Brunswickers living elsewhere in Canada who've been trying to get permission to enter the province to visit relatives with life-threatening illnesses or to bury loved ones who have died."I'm floored. I can only surmise that somebody decided that this person was important and should be allowed to come in," said Lesley Shannon, a British Columbia resident originally from the Saint John area.
She wants to travel to the province for the burial of her mother Lorraine, who died in April. A house has been rented for her and friends are prepared to drop off groceries so she can heed the rules to self-isolate for 14 days before the burial, she said.
"I think the reasoning [for letting Wright in] is shocking," she said.
Lesley Shannon, pictured here with her late mother, Lorraine, is trying to get into New Brunswick by early July for her mother's burial. (Submitted by Lesley Shannon)
Shannon's mother has to be buried by early July because the cemetery does not have cooling in its vault. "We've been told that's a non-negotiable situation."
With a two-week isolation period and the scarcity of flights during the pandemic, she said her window to attend the burial is closing fast.
Yet the province isn't showing her the same flexibility it showed Wright when it let him in to count cars in restaurant parking lots, she said.
"To me it's beyond disrespectful that my mom would have to be buried without me being there when I'm perfectly capable of being there."
Questions about consistency, compassion
Dave Perry, an Ottawa resident originally from New Brunswick whose father is in the oncology unit at the Saint John Regional Hospital with life-threatening leukemia, said he was also stunned to read about Wright's trip."I'm just not seeing much consistency in terms of how the province determines who's allowed in, and not much compassion in the compassionate policy," he said.
Both Shannon and Perry said they've been frustrated seeing the province make allowances for temporary foreign workers and university students to enter the province, but not grieving relatives.
"The process for figuring out the process for trying to do this is not good," Shannon said. "It's really terrible, to be honest."
Perry said: "I'm just looking for a mechanism where, if I need to, I can get home to see my family."
Shannon said she could have flown home before her mother's death on April 13 because the province hadn't yet stationed enforcement officers at airports to screen incoming flights.
But she heeded advice not to come and now "it looks like I'm going to pay the price for doing what our provincial and federal government officials begged us all to do."
Wore protective equipment
Wright suggested that New Brunswick's limitations on interprovincial travel are unconstitutional, something that some experts and advocacy groups have also raised. But he said he didn't travel to the province for the sake of making a point.Wright said he always paid for gas at the pumps and used gloves, N95 masks and hand sanitizer while in New Brunswick.
He said he had contacted business organizations in the province to get information about how the recovery was going but they didn't respond and he decided to travel here himself to see things firsthand.
Lou Bell
Wright confirmed he paid for the trip himself. He said he has sometimes funded his own research into issues to get "the other side of the argument."
I don't think it was right to do this but they way some of you New Brunswickers act and react makes me inclined to be opposed to anything you say.
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