News Highlights for Southwest New Brunswick: October 13-20, 2020

After an outbreak of COVID-19 at Woodland Pulp, a mill in Baileyville, Maine that employees seven residents of the Charlotte County area, a satellite COVID-19 testing site near the Charlotte County Hospital is now operating in St. Stephen. The testing site is open to anyone in the area who requires testing.

COVID-19 outbreaks in both Zone 1, the Moncton region, and Zone 5, the Campbellton region, have led to those two zones returning to the orange level of recovery. This means residents of Zone 1 and 5 are now required to follow more strict guidelines, including wearing masks in both indoor and outdoor public settings. These orange level guidelines also applies to New Brunswickers who live in yellow level zones but visited zone 1 or zone 5 over the holiday weekend.

Some town councils particularly in rural areas of New Brunswick have either lost quorum and dissolved as a result, such as on Campobello Island, or are on the verge of losing quorum. This is in part due to extended terms during COVID-19 but also because many town councillors are acclaimed in the first place due to lack of interest. At a press conference on Tuesday, Premier Higgs said he'd consider amalgamating local service districts with municipal governments to ensure there are a healthy number of candidates before the May 2021 municipal elections.

Charlotte County Television is launching a new show this week called New Brunswickers Want Action. Hosted by Neil Clements, Matthew Martin and Dr. Timothy Christie, NBWA takes a closer look at systemic prejudices and racial injustices in New Brunswick and, as the title of the show suggests, calls for action. New Brunswickers Wants Action airs Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays at 8:30pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 3pm and 7:30pm.