https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/covid-19-new-brunswick-total-cases-1.5522067

N.B. COVID-19 roundup: RCMP officer tests positive, another in isolation

West District RCMP member isolating at home after diagnosis

Hadeel Ibrahim· CBC News· Posted: Apr 04, 2020 1:12 PM AT



New Brunswick RCMP say the confirmed case of COVID-19 within their ranks 'is not believed to be related to frontline interaction.' (CBC)



A member of the RCMP  in New Brunswick has tested positive for COVID-19, the RCMP said Saturday.

In a media release, the RCMP said the police officer in the West District is isolating at home after being diagnosed with the respiratory infection.

RCMP spokesperson Cst. Hans Ouellette said there was no interaction between the police officer and member of the public while they were conducting their duties.

"I can assure you that this case is not believed to be related to any frontline interaction," he said. "And there's no anticipated impact on frontline policing at this time."

This release comes hours after the province announced three new cases of COVID-19 Saturday. All of the new cases are in the Fredericton area, bringing the total infections to 98.

This was not unexpected for us

- Cst. Hans Ouellette, RCMP

Ouellette said privacy concerns prevent him from sharing what duties the officer had, how they contracted the disease and when they were diagnosed.

The police officer is part of the west district detachments, which starts at the border in Edmundston all the way down to St. Stephen and St. George, Ouellette said.

Ouellette said one other employee was placed in isolation "as a precaution" because they had contact with the officer who tested positive. He could not say if the second employee was displaying symptoms.

He said the New Brunswick RCMP has been prepared for a COVID-19 diagnosis among its workers.

"This was not unexpected for us," he said.


Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, says the province continues to look for community transmission. (Ed Hunter/CBC)


Ouellette said the RCMP is allowing some office staff to work from home and is implementing physical distancing for people who continue to work in offices.

All frontline officers have personal protective equipment, he said.

"You will see some of our police officers wearing masks, for example, or gloves or goggles when responding to certain calls that may involve possible exposure," he said.

Ouellette said when getting calls, dispatchers ask callers questions like if anyone has been out of the country, or have been exposed to COVID-19, before sending officers out.

Province investigates transmission mode of six cases

On Saturday the province provided an updated breakdown of how most cases were transmitted.

Of the 98 total cases, 57 are travel related, 31 are close contacts of confirmed cases and four cases are from community transmission. The province is still investigating how six cases were transmitted, including the most recent three.

As of Saturday, six patients have been hospitalized and two have been discharged. Four patients remain in hospital, including one person in the intensive care unit, the release said.





The new cases have been confirmed with testing at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre lab in Moncton. As of Saturday, the province has conducted 5005 tests, but that does not mean 5005 people were tested. One person could have been tested more than once.

The release says 28 patients have recovered so far.

The new cases are:

• A person aged 20-29 in Zone 3 (Fredericton region)
• A person aged 30-39 in Zone 3 (Fredericton region)
• A person aged 50-59 in Zone 3 (Fredericton region)

"We are at the point where we are going to see more community transmission,'' said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health in the news release.

"We are adapting daily to this changing health-care crisis. But the one thing that has not changed is the importance of people staying home."







11 Comments



David Amos
"The RCMP says "the case is not believed to be related to frontline interaction," but does not say how the officer contracted the disease."

Surprise Surprise Surprise




























Terry Hughes
Went to Super Store today. Waited in line to get in. Employees doing a good job. Aisles are marked with arrows to keep people going in the same direction. One lady was going the wrong way in an aisle and when I politely told her, she looked at me and gave a snive remark. YIKES.


SarahRose Werner 

David Amos
Reply to @SarahRose Werner: Methinks a few rotten apples went "Poof" N'esy Pas?



























Jim Cyr:
Even during the worst pandemic of the last 200 years, the censors on here are still on the job. Can you believe it?...


David Amos 


SarahRose Werner
Reply to @Jim Cyr: Censorship thrives during times of crisis. The 1918 Influenza Pandemic was known as the "Spanish flu" because WWI censors wouldn't allow reports of deaths to be published in Germany, the UK, France and the States. Spain was neutral and Spanish newspapers reported freely, so people in other countries assumed that's where the pandemic had started. By the way, I'd say 100 years rather than 200.







https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/francine-landry-liberal-mla-covid-19-criticism-1.5521798

Liberal MLA retreats from criticism of province's COVID-19 response

Francine Landry accused Premier Blaine Higgs of not widespread testing to save money

Jacques Poitras· CBC News· Posted: Apr 04, 2020 9:00 AM AT


Liberal MLA Francine Landry is backing away from harsh online criticism of Premier Blaine Higgs and the government's handling of the COVID-19 outbreak. (CBC)


A Liberal MLA has backed away from strong criticism of Premier Blaine Higgs, Dr. Jennifer Russell and their handling of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Francine Landry, the member for Madawaska-Les-Lacs-Edmundston, now says New Brunswickers need to "put our faith" in Public Health officials during the pandemic.

The former cabinet minister said more information has come to light since last week, when she ripped Higgs and Russell for the provincial response to COVID-19, an effort that Landry's own party leader, Kevin Vickers, has been praising.

At the time Landry slammed Higgs as "an accountant," accusing him of holding back on widespread testing for the virus to save money.




"When all decisions are based on what it's going to cost, that's what we end up with," she tweeted on March 28 in response to someone asking her if the low number of tests in some regions was a cost-saving measure.

"Higgs is an accountant, don't forget," she added, incorrectly. The premier is an engineer.

It has since emerged that the province has been cautious about its testing levels because it has a finite supply of test kits. Higgs told CBC's Power and Politics on Thursday that the province could run out in a week if it "ramped up a bit" on testing.
Landry's criticism contradicted the message from Vickers, one of the three leaders of opposition parties invited to sit with Higgs and key ministers on an all-party cabinet committee that meets daily.
Vickers told the CBC New Brunswick Political Panel podcast Friday that he wanted to "congratulate the premier" and said Higgs's regular consultations with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other premiers represent "the leadership Canadians are looking for and New Brunswickers are looking for."


Premier Blaine Higgs said Thursday the province could run out of tests in a week if it ramped up testing. (Submitted by Government of New Brunswick )


The Liberal leader also said the level of testing shows the province is "being strategic with the resources that we have." He said he was "exceptionally impressed with our public service and Dr. Jennifer Russell and the manner in which they're running this."

Landry also criticized Russell on March 27 for not releasing the number of tests being done by health region in the province.
 


She said on Twitter that the first case in northwest New Brunswick had been wrongly classified as a travel-related case at first and was later treated as a case of community transmission.

Landry said the woman in question couldn't get a test until she said she had made a quick trip across the border to Maine to get gas, allowing her to meet the testing criteria as an international traveller.