The province of New Brunswick now has its first confirmed case of the COVID-19 virus.
Health officials say the presumptive case announced Wednesday has been confirmed by the national lab in Winnipeg.
The patient is a woman between 50 and 60 years old from southeastern New Brunswick who recently travelled to France.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said during a Thursday news conference that testing will only be done on people who are showing symptoms.
“When there is no symptoms, no testing will be performed to tell you whether or not you’re going to develop COVID-19 or it can’t be used to clear somebody to go back to school or go to back to work at this point in time for somebody who is not symptomatic,” said Russell.
No More Mass Gatherings For Now
Russell is recommending that all non-essential mass gatherings of 150 or more people be cancelled or postponed for now.
She is also encouraging amateur sports leagues or social gathering activities like dance or theatre to consider suspending their non-essential activities to help reduce infection risks.
“We’re not saying that COVID-19 is not still going to occur, even with these measures in place, but we’re going to hopefully minimize the impact, delay the onset of more cases by these particular measures,” said Russell.
Public Health said other measures to reduce infection risks during smaller mass gatherings include discouraging attendees from sharing food or drinks, eliminating self-serve buffet-style eating at social or religious gatherings, and supporting hand hygiene by providing hand sanitizer dispensers.
Social Distancing
Russell is also asking people to practice “social distancing” during the COVID-19 outbreak by staying two metres away from others.
“This is something that is not a concept that we’re used to. We’re used to being able to give people hugs and kisses and high-fives and fist bumps and all those kind of things.”
On Thursday, the Horizon Health Network announced that anyone who has travelled outside of Canada will not be allowed to visit any patients in their facilities for 14 days after they return.
The following update on COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) was issued today by Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health: Everyone has a role to play in mitigating the impact of COVID-19. https://t.co/P83vdoOynH
— Government of NB (@Gov_NB) March 12, 2020
