At a press conference in Fredericton on Monday, September 13, 2021, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell announced 122 new cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick. Although the case number included new cases from Saturday, Sunday and Monday, 45 of the new cases are in children under the age of 19. 

“This fourth wave of COVID-19 infections is different from what we have seen before,” said Dr. Russell, “We are experiencing an epidemic among the unvaccinated – those who have chosen to remain unvaccinated as well as those who are not yet eligible. And, in many cases, adults who are not fully vaccinated are passing the virus onto young children who are not yet able to get the vaccine.”

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy announced that, starting Tuesday, students of all ages must wear a mask in school and while on school buses. Masks may be removed when students are eating, drinking or engaged in sports or physical education classes. These measures will be in place for the next two weeks and reassessed by the week of Sept. 27.

“I know that families are feeling anxious right now, especially those with children under the age of 12 who are not yet eligible to be vaccinated,” said Cardy. “But we continue to work with Public Health to adapt our guidelines based on new information and will continue to do so throughout the coming year as needed. That is why we are adding layers of protection to schools and child-care facilities in impacted regions, and the situation will be closely monitored in the coming weeks. We also urge anyone who is eligible to get fully vaccinated and help keep our kids healthy and safe.”  

Public Health reported today that 76.9 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 85.6 per cent have received their first dose of a vaccine. That said, just over 60 per cent of children under 19 are fully vaccinated and the 20-40 year-old age group, notably the group that compromises the majority of parents of young children, isn't much higher.

“Having as many New Brunswickers vaccinated as possible is key to getting our province through this current rise in cases and moving beyond the pandemic,” said Premier Blaine Higgs. “While our health-care system is able to handle the current level of hospitalizations, we do not want to wait until we reach a critical state to introduce changes. Cabinet will be meeting later today and will work with Public Health to determine whether new guidelines are required.”