Source:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-...ictions-level-1-protest-fredericton-1.6344932
N.B. COVID-19 roundup: Province moves to least restrictive Level 1 on Feb. 18
Premier Blaine Higgs says all restrictions could be removed by the end of March
Bobbi-Jean MacKinnon · CBC News · Posted: Feb 09, 2022 12:14 PM AT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
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6 more deaths, marks 47 in 12 days, since move to Level 2
Campbellton Tigers hit with 8 positive cases
New Brunswick will move to Level 1, the least restrictive level of the COVID-19 winter plan, on Feb. 18 at 11:59 p.m., Premier Blaine Higgs announced Wednesday, as the province recorded six more COVID-related deaths.
The decision was based on the advice of Public Health, he said.
By the end of the winter, he hopes to lift all COVID restrictions, later defining that as the end of March.
Hospitalizations will need to decrease as projected, he noted, and it will have to be based on science.
But the end of the mandates "is definitely in sight," Higgs told a COVID briefing...
...The six deaths confirmed Wednesday mark 47 in 12 days, since the province returned to Level 2 from the most restrictive Level 3.
The latest deaths are spread across the province, the dashboard shows.
They include a person in their 60s in the Moncton region, Zone 1, a person in their 70s and another in their 90s in the Saint John region, Zone 2, a person in their 70s in the Edmundston region, Zone 4, a person in their 80s in the Bathurst region, Zone 6, and a person in their 80s in the Miramichi region, Zone 7.
Of the 139 people in hospital — 62 of them for COVID-19, while the other 77 were originally admitted for something else when they tested positive for the virus, according to dashboard,
Fifteen people are in intensive care, a decrease of two, and seven of them are on ventilators, down one.
The seven-day average of hospitalizations decreased to 156 from 159, while the seven-day average of the number of people in intensive care remained steady for a fifth day at 16.
N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 6 more deaths, Higgs hopes to take 'steam' out of planned protest
Through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) lab tests, Public Health confirmed 321 new cases of COVID, putting the province's active case count at 3,315.
An additional 573 people self-reported testing positive on rapid tests...