At a press conference in Fredericton on Thursday, October 28, 2021, Premier Blaine Higgs and Chief Medical Officer of New Brunswick Dr. Jennifer Russell announced that cases in the province are beginning to drop and hospitalizations are starting to trend downward. To ensure the positive trend continues, the province and Public Health have decided the best move is to extend the circuit breaker for another seven days in Zone 1 (Moncton region) as far north as and including Sainte-Anne-de-Kent; the northern portion of Zone 3 from and including Deerville and Florenceville-Bristol, but excluding Hayesville and Parker Ridge; all of Zone 4 (Edmundston region); and all of Zone 5 (Campbellton region).

“Sadly, we know that there are some deaths that come from those who are hospitalized due to COVID-19, which is why it is so important to get control of hospitalizations,” said Premier Higgs. “From several weeks ago, when circuit breakers were first introduced, the number of active cases has dropped by 50 per cent and the number of hospitalizations has declined by nearly one-third. However, there remains a strain on the hospital system due to the resources required to care for a COVID patient.”

In addition to the extended circuit breaker and due to a high number of COVID-19 transmissions near and around the City of Saint John, a large section of Zone 2 (Saint John region) will enter a 14-day circuit breaker at 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 29. The impacted areas include New River Beach and Lepreau, north to the communities of Clarendon and Welsford, east to the community of Head of Millstream, and all communities in Saint John and Kings counties.