Public Health has added a webpage to continue to update the public on the status and effects of COVID-19 in New Brunswick.

COVIDWATCH, a new reporting mechanism, will provide weekly updates every Tuesday on the government’s coronavirus website. The report will include data up to and including the previous Saturday.

A highlights infographic will contain information such as intensive care unit admissions, hospitalizations, deaths, rapid test and PCR test results and vaccination rates.

A more detailed report will also be available. It will include the seven-day moving average of confirmed COVID-19 cases and the number of cases with breakdowns by zone and age.

To align with reporting practices in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, reported hospitalizations will only include people hospitalized for COVID. The number of cases recovered will change to reflect national reporting standards. The number of patients on ventilators and the number of hospital staff off work due to COVID-19 will no longer be reported by Public Health, but those numbers will be available from the regional health authorities.

These changes better reflect the usual surveillance and reporting of communicable diseases. As the province continues to transition to living with COVID-19, ongoing reports will aim to communicate the risks of severe disease.

The transition period also presents an opportunity for data clean-up. For example, out-of-province cases reported in New Brunswick will be removed.

People who are eligible and require a COVID-19 vaccine or booster can book their appointment at a participating pharmacy. Some Public Health offices are also offering appointments for vaccinations. Children aged 5-18 may also be able to receive their vaccines during regular school-based immunization program appointments.

New Brunswickers aged 50 and over, those who are immunocompromised, and individuals who live or work in a vulnerable setting are eligible to obtain a PCR test or a rapid-test kit through the online portal. Those under 50 can obtain a rapid-test kit through the portal.