New Brunswick officials project up to 5,500 COVID-19 cases a day in coming weeks

FREDERICTON - If present traits proceed, New Brunswick may report 5,500 folks testing optimistic every day for COVID-19 by the tip of the month, the province’s chief epidemiologist stated Tuesday.

“If these traits maintain, we anticipate to succeed in our peak in the direction of the tip of January or early February,” Mathieu Chalifoux advised a information convention in Fredericton. “This might characterize shut to five,500 circumstances each day and almost 220 energetic hospitalizations.”

There are presently a report 88 folks hospitalized with COVID-19 within the province, together with 14 in intensive care and 11 on a ventilator. Chalifoux stated he anticipated the province will return to present ranges in 5 to 6 weeks’ time.

John Dornan, interim president of the Horizon Well being Community, stated Tuesday, “We're in the beginning of a really excessive tidal wave. It’s creeping up now, however within the subsequent two to a few weeks, it’s going to crash over us like nobody’s enterprise.”

“We're close to the two-year mark, however the worst is but to come back and it’s not going to come back over the following six months, it’s going to come back over the following few weeks,” he advised reporters.

Officers reported one COVID-19-related demise Tuesday — an individual of their 90s within the Moncton area. There have been 173 deaths within the province for the reason that begin of the pandemic.

The Edmundston Regional Hospital and the Saint John Regional Hospital are closing items and reallocating workers in an effort to take care of outbreaks within the hospitals. There are presently 377 health-care employees who've examined optimistic for COVID-19 and are isolating, and officers say they anticipate the influence on front-line workers will improve within the coming weeks.

Chalifoux stated as many as 55,000 folks may very well be isolating at any given time over the following few weeks. “It will influence not solely our health-care system but additionally different essential companies comparable to hearth departments, police departments, energy companies and so forth. It'll additionally influence giant and smaller companies as employees both require sick time or isolation time.”

Chief medical officer of well being Dr. Jennifer Russell stated New Brunswickers may also help flatten the curve by additional limiting their contacts. “We are able to all assist and produce our anticipated peak down if all of us cut back our contacts by seeing fewer folks, distance appropriately, and put on correctly fitted masks when inside,” Russell stated.

New Brunswickers, Russell added, are inspired to be ready by having a plan for isolation and retaining provides like meals and medicine readily available and looking forward to signs of COVID-19.

Russell stated it’s hoped the general public will do their half by decreasing their contacts, reasonably than the province having to impose additional public well being restrictions.

This report by The Canadian Press was first revealed Jan. 11, 2022.