Dr. Jennifer Russell, the chief medical officer of health, directly addressed the youth of New Brunswick at Tuesday’s news conference, urging them to do what they can do to reverse the trend of COVID-19.
“New Brunswickers under the age of 30 are contracting COVID-19 in growing numbers and passing it to others,” Russell said. “Children, teens and young adults are not immune to this disease,” and can pass it on to others who are more vulnerable.
Russell urged them to wear a mask in public, maintain physical distancing. “You can help return all zones to the yellow phase,” she said.
Russell also announced five new cases on Tuesday, although Public Health originally reported six.
Three of the new cases are in the Saint John region (Zone 2), and include:
two people 19 and under; and
one individual 30 to 39.
Two cases are in the Moncton region (Zone 1), both cases are individuals age 20 to 29.
There are now 93 active cases in the province, with no one in hospital with the disease.
“There will be more cases,” Russell warned. “A record number of people across the province self-isolating … and the risk that our hospitals will be overwhelmed is high.”
Education Minister Dominic Cardy said classes at four schools in the Saint John and Moncton region will go online for two weeks next week. (File photo submitted by New Brunswick government)
Education Minister Dominic Cardy also spoke at the briefing.
Cardy said there are now seven schools in the Saint John and Fredericton regions that have been impacted and he understands parents are concerned, “but we have reason to be optimistic.”
He said the province has learned from the earlier outbreak in the Campbellton region.
“In the summer I was clear,” he said. “I said there would be more cases, and more deaths. This is not a surprise.”
He said officials took the summer to develop a plan, and thanks to the work of contact tracers across the province, and residents, New Brunswick was able to push COVID-19 back.
But Cardy noted a handful of classes in Zone 2 and 3 will be learning from home “in the coming week or two,” including Hampton Middle School and Lakefield Elementary School in Zone 2, and Centreville school and Montgomery school in Zone 3.
There will be remote IT services to assist parents if there are technical issues, said Cardy, who provided this number: 1-833-453-1140.
Lakefield Elementary School in Quispamsis has confirmed its first case of COVID-19. (Candace Patterson)
Quispamsis school reports case of COVID-19
An elementary school in the Quispamsis area is the latest New Brunswick school to report a case of COVID-19.
An email was sent out to parents at Lakefield Elementary School on Monday.
The email to Lakefield parents says the kindergarten to Grade 5 school is working with Public Health to identify students and school personnel who might have come into contact with the coronavirus.
“Public health officials will contact you if your child has been in close contact with the confirmed case and will tell you if your child needs to self-isolate,” the email said.
“If you are not contacted by Public Health officials, your child can continue to attend school.”
LISTEN | Education Minister Dominic Cardy talks about how he’s prepared to switch system to online learning at a moment’s notice
Information Morning – Fredericton14:42Covid-19 exposures in schools
Education Minister Dominic Cardy joined us to talk about going to school in the orange phase, and the COVID-19 cases and exposures in our schools. 14:42
The email went on to say that further details will not be released, in order to protect the confidentiality of students and employees.
Education Minister Dominic Cardy said Monday that schools will move to online learning right away if there are any risks to students or if the number of cases increases.
How much is too much information in a pandemic?
There’s a fine balance between saying too much and not enough during a public health crisis, an associate professor of public policy at the University of British Columbia says.
“Feeling the information is consistent and trustworthy will really help with compliance, so it’s completely crucial,” said Heidi Tworek, who is also the co-author of Democratic Health Communications during COVID-19: A Rapid Response, which has been featured in the New York Times, Financial Times, CNN and elsewhere.
Tworek spoke to Information Morning Fredericton on Tuesday.
When a crisis emerges, she said people tend to have a lot of anxiety and want as much information as possible.
“At the same time, we have to recognize there is a limit to information authorities may be able reveal,” she said.
New Brunswick Public Health has been cautious about how much information it makes available to the public, withholding all details except the health zones where cases have turned up, the ages of the people who tested positive, and whether their cases are travel-related or under investigation.
Although some of her counterparts have used data to show how the disease has spread through a particular area, Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, has said she will share only what she’s decided the public needs to hear.
Heidi Tworek, an assistant professor in international history and public policy at University of British Columbia, says governments and public health agencies have to be more effective at communicating to the public because disinformation will spread faster than facts. (Glen Kugelstadt/CBC)
There are seven zones in New Brunswick.
However, Zone 3, the Fredericton and River Valley area and the largest zone in the province, contains more than 20 communities.
Tworek said that if New Brunswick Public Health got too specific about where cases are, people in other areas might let their guards down, causing the virus to spread.
“We need to figure out the balance how specific to get … while at the same time trying not to reveal so much, for example, we’re stigmatizing certain people,” she said, citing what happened during the early years of AIDS and HIV which caused some stigmatization around gay people.
Russell has also avoided answering questions on other issues related to COVID-19 during the COVID news conferences that have happened on and off since the outbreak started in March.
But there isn’t a magic formula, Tworek said.
She said countries around the world have taken different approaches to releasing public health information, partly because they have different laws about privacy, she said.
Some countries are also more transparent. When the respiratory virus first broke out, authorities in Taiwan made a point of being transparent with the public, telling the public it didn’t have enough masks to go around and those that were available were needed for health-care workers.
Vehicles lined up to get back into New Brunswick from Prince Edward Island when the Atlantic bubble was still intact this past summer. (Elizabeth Fraser/CBC News)
However, countries like Canada have different degrees of disclosure depending on where a person lives. And some members of the public might have more trust in public health authorities than others.
She said the most important objective is for public health officials to build trust with the people they’re communicating with. And they can do this by explaining how and why they’re making certain decisions.
“It’s a very tricky balance.”
Saint John mayor asks public to stay calm
Saint John Mayor Don Darling says he’s never been happier to have the flu.
Darling received a negative COVID test result Monday. But it’s been a roller-coaster experience.
“I am following the rules.,” he told Information Morning Saint John on Tuesday. “I’m masked and I’ve never washed my hands more in my life.
“There’s a fear, there’s a shame. I didn’t know if folks were going to show up with tiki torches outside my home.”
He has been self-isolating since Friday after experiencing several COVID symptoms, including aches, trouble breathing, a cough and fever.
I have a confession to make, last fall I didn’t know what the novel coronavirus covid 19 was. Sitting here at 4:50 am typing this update I have a much different understanding. <a href=”https://t.co/y4WD0OLjqV”>https://t.co/y4WD0OLjqV</a>
The Saint John region was recently sent back to the orange phase because of the recent spike in cases.
There are currently 43 active COVID cases in the Saint John region
Darling is reminding residents to stay patient and calm.
“We’ve seen it in our community, folks speculating and hunting down those that have COVID,” he said. “Those that have COVID are human beings.”
The hospitality industry has been “barely hanging on,” throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the vice- president of Restaurants Canada in Atlantic Canada says.
Bars, restaurants should be shut down, Saint John bartender says
A Saint John bartender says the government should temporarily shut down bars and restaurants in order to control the local COVID-19 outbreak.
Liv Wagg, 26, has been off work and self-isolating since last Thursday, after a possible COVID exposure notice at her workplace.
It’s been a stressful week, said Wagg, and every bartender she knows is on edge.
Wagg said she normally enjoys going to work and she thinks it’s nice for people to be able to socialize in bars, but she doesn’t agree bars should be open right now.
“I don’t think they should be,” she said. “I think we should be seeing a little bit more leadership from the government.”
Wagg said bar owners are taking precautions and following the rules, but a closure order would be a more clearcut way to reduce the spread.
Bar and restaurant staff have felt “weird” about working since the mandatory mask order came into effect, she said.
That’s partly because it’s hard to get patrons to follow the rules, said Wagg.
Customers often absent-mindedly pull down their masks to talk to her. And she has to remind them to put them back on.
“People forget and they’re like, ‘Oh, I can’t talk with this thing in my mouth.'”
Premier Blaine Higgs announced Monday that New Brunswick will not be making changes to the Atlantic bubble, despite Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador temporarily pulling out. 1:45
It happens so often, she said, it’s “almost comical,” except for the threat it currently presents to public health.
It puts bartenders in a difficult position, said Wagg, to expect them to catch and confront people who put fake names down for contract tracing or come in with people who are not members of their bubble, as the premier said during Monday’s news conference.
“I feel like it’s going to be really, really difficult to execute,” said Wagg.
When the bar is busy, she said, there isn’t time to double check names.
Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, says there hasn’t been evidence of community spread in the province, but there are still 13 active COVID-19 cases under investigation. 1:22
And often young bar patrons will have IDs that show their parents’ address, not their student accommodations.
Wagg would also like to see the government make COVID testing more available to bar and restaurant staff. Nova Scotia has just done that. And it’s been recommended by epidemiologist Colin Furness based on what’s been learned from the way the disease has spread in Ontario. Chief medical officer Dr. Jennifer Russell said Monday that she’d consider it.
“I think that’s a really good idea,” Wagg said. “Anyone working in customer service really should be able to have more access to testing right now.”
Wagg said she hasn’t even tried to get a COVID test because she’s heard from other bar staff that she won’t get one because she doesn’t have symptoms.
New Brunswick isn’t following suit, although Premier Blaine Higgs is asking people to be cautious about travel outside the province.
New Brunswick Public Health reported 15 new cases on Monday, and one death, a person in their 80s in the Saint John region.
Eleven of the new cases are in the Saint John region (Zone 2), three are in the Moncton region (Zone 1) and one in the Fredericton region (Zone 3), Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, said at Monday’s news conference.
All 15 of the new cases have been “identified and are isolating,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health at a news briefing Monday.
As of Monday, the province had a total of 89 active cases.
Seven people in New Brunswick have died of the disease since the pandemic started.
Moncton and Saint John have both been pushed back to the orange phase of recovery, while the rest of the province has stayed at the less restrictive yellow phase.
Potential public exposure warnings for Saint John, Moncton
New Brunswick Public Health has released the following possible exposure to COVID-19 warnings for locations in Moncton and Saint John, including gyms, stores, bars, restaurants and on flights.
Anyone who visited the following businesses during the identified times should self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days.
Anyone who develops any COVID-19 symptoms should self-isolate and take the self-assessment online to schedule a test.
Saint John area
Rothesay Route 1 Big Stop Restaurant onNov. 14 between 12:45 p.m. and 2 p.m. (2870 Route 1, Rothesay).
Pub Down Under on Nov. 14, between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. (400 Main St., Saint John)
Fish & Brew on Nov. 14 between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. (800 Fairville Blvd., Saint John)
Cora Breakfast and Lunch on Nov. 16 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. (39 King St., Saint John).
Goodlife Fitness McAllister Place on Nov. 16 between noon and 1 p.m. and on Nov. 18 between 2:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. (519 Westmorland Rd., Saint John).
NBCC Grandview campus on Nov. 16, 17, and 18 between 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. (950 Grandview Ave., Saint John).
Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio on Nov. 19 between 12:30 p.m. and 3 p.m. (47 Clark Rd., Rothesay)
Let’s Hummus at 44 Water St. between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.
Eighty-Three Bar Arcade at 43 Princess St. on Nov. 14 between midnight and 2 a.m.
Callie’s Pub at 2 Princess St. on Nov. 14 between midnight and 2 a.m.
O’Leary’s Pub at 46 Princess St. on Nov. 14 between midnight and 2 a.m.
Five and Dime Bar at 34 Grannan St. on Nov. 14, between 12:30 to 2:30 a.m
Freddie’s Pizza at 27 Charlotte St. on Nov. 14, between 2:30 to 3 a.m.
Big Tide Brewing Company at 47 Princess St. on Nov. 16, between 12:30 to 2 p.m.
Java Moose at 84 Prince William St. Nov. 16, between 2 to 2:30 p.m.
Rocky’s Sports Bar at 7 Market Square on Nov. 13, between 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Potential public exposure was also reported on Nov. 14 between 10:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m.
Moncton
RD Maclean Co. Ltd. on Nov. 16, 17 and 18 at 200 St. George St., between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
GoodLife Fitness on Nov. 21 at 555 Dieppe Blvd, Dieppe, between 1 p.m. and 2:30 p.m.
Fit 4 Less at 165 Main St. on Nov. 6-12, at various times between 5 p.m. and midnight. Full list on Public Health website.
GoodLife Fitness at Moncton Junction Village Gym on Nov. 6, between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. Potential public exposure was also reported on Nov. 9, between 8:30 p.m. and 10 p.m.
Aldo Shoes at Moncton Champlain Mall on Nov. 6-10 at various times between 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
CEPS Louis-J. Robichaud fitness room at 40 Antonine-Maillet Ave. on Nov. 6, 9, 10 and 12 at various times in the evening from 5:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Tandoori Zaika Cuisine and Bar at 196 Robinson St. on Nov. 8, between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m.
Keg Steakhouse and Bar at 576 Main St. on Nov. 17, between 7:45 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.
Flights into Moncton:
Air Canada Flight 8954 on Nov. 15 from Winnipeg to Toronto, arrived at 8:16 p.m.
Air Canada Flight 8918 on Nov. 15 from Toronto to Moncton, arrived at 11:43 p.m.
Air Canada Flight 0992 on Nov. 7 from Mexico City to Toronto, arrived at 7:20 p.m.
Air Canada Flight 8918 on Nov. 7 from Toronto to Moncton, arrived at 11:43 p.m.
Skinstitut Holiday Gift Kits take the stress out of gifting
Toronto, October 31, 2024 – Beauty gifts are at the top of holiday wish lists this year, and Laser Clinics Canada, a leader in advanced beauty treatments and skincare, is taking the pressure out of seasonal shopping. Today, Laser Clincs Canada announces the arrival of its 2024 Holiday Gift Kits, courtesy of Skinstitut, the exclusive skincare line of Laser Clinics Group.
In time for the busy shopping season, the limited-edition Holiday Gifts Kits are available in Laser Clinics locations in the GTA and Ottawa. Clinics are conveniently located in popular shopping centers, including Hillcrest Mall, Square One, CF Sherway Gardens, Scarborough Town Centre, Rideau Centre, Union Station and CF Markville. These limited-edition Kits are available on a first come, first served basis.
“These kits combine our best-selling products, bundled to address the most relevant skin concerns we’re seeing among our clients,” says Christina Ho, Senior Brand & LAM Manager at Laser Clinics Canada. “With several price points available, the kits offer excellent value and suit a variety of gift-giving needs, from those new to cosmeceuticals to those looking to level up their skincare routine. What’s more, these kits are priced with a savings of up to 33 per cent so gift givers can save during the holiday season.
There are two kits to select from, each designed to address key skin concerns and each with a unique theme — Brightening Basics and Hydration Heroes.
Brightening Basics is a mix of everyday essentials for glowing skin for all skin types. The bundle comes in a sleek pink, reusable case and includes three full-sized products: 200ml gentle cleanser, 50ml Moisture Defence (normal skin) and 30ml1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum. The Brightening Basics kit is available at $129, a saving of 33 per cent.
Hydration Heroes is a mix of hydration essentials and active heroes that cater to a wide variety of clients. A perfect stocking stuffer, this bundle includes four deluxe products: Moisture 15 15 ml Defence for normal skin, 10 ml 1% Hyaluronic Complex Serum, 10 ml Retinol Serum and 50 ml Expert Squalane Cleansing Oil. The kit retails at $59.
In addition to the 2024 Holiday Gifts Kits, gift givers can easily add a Laser Clinic Canada gift card to the mix. Offering flexibility, recipients can choose from a wide range of treatments offered by Laser Clinics Canada, or they can expand their collection of exclusive Skinstitut products.
Brightening Basics 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut, available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
Hydration Heroes 2024 Holiday Gift Kit by Skinstitut – available exclusively at Laser Clincs Canada clinics and online at skinstitut.ca.
LONDON (AP) — Most people have accumulated a pile of data — selfies, emails, videos and more — on their social media and digital accounts over their lifetimes. What happens to it when we die?
It’s wise to draft a will spelling out who inherits your physical assets after you’re gone, but don’t forget to take care of your digital estate too. Friends and family might treasure files and posts you’ve left behind, but they could get lost in digital purgatory after you pass away unless you take some simple steps.
Here’s how you can prepare your digital life for your survivors:
Apple
The iPhone maker lets you nominate a “ legacy contact ” who can access your Apple account’s data after you die. The company says it’s a secure way to give trusted people access to photos, files and messages. To set it up you’ll need an Apple device with a fairly recent operating system — iPhones and iPads need iOS or iPadOS 15.2 and MacBooks needs macOS Monterey 12.1.
For iPhones, go to settings, tap Sign-in & Security and then Legacy Contact. You can name one or more people, and they don’t need an Apple ID or device.
You’ll have to share an access key with your contact. It can be a digital version sent electronically, or you can print a copy or save it as a screenshot or PDF.
Take note that there are some types of files you won’t be able to pass on — including digital rights-protected music, movies and passwords stored in Apple’s password manager. Legacy contacts can only access a deceased user’s account for three years before Apple deletes the account.
Google
Google takes a different approach with its Inactive Account Manager, which allows you to share your data with someone if it notices that you’ve stopped using your account.
When setting it up, you need to decide how long Google should wait — from three to 18 months — before considering your account inactive. Once that time is up, Google can notify up to 10 people.
You can write a message informing them you’ve stopped using the account, and, optionally, include a link to download your data. You can choose what types of data they can access — including emails, photos, calendar entries and YouTube videos.
There’s also an option to automatically delete your account after three months of inactivity, so your contacts will have to download any data before that deadline.
Facebook and Instagram
Some social media platforms can preserve accounts for people who have died so that friends and family can honor their memories.
When users of Facebook or Instagram die, parent company Meta says it can memorialize the account if it gets a “valid request” from a friend or family member. Requests can be submitted through an online form.
The social media company strongly recommends Facebook users add a legacy contact to look after their memorial accounts. Legacy contacts can do things like respond to new friend requests and update pinned posts, but they can’t read private messages or remove or alter previous posts. You can only choose one person, who also has to have a Facebook account.
You can also ask Facebook or Instagram to delete a deceased user’s account if you’re a close family member or an executor. You’ll need to send in documents like a death certificate.
TikTok
The video-sharing platform says that if a user has died, people can submit a request to memorialize the account through the settings menu. Go to the Report a Problem section, then Account and profile, then Manage account, where you can report a deceased user.
Once an account has been memorialized, it will be labeled “Remembering.” No one will be able to log into the account, which prevents anyone from editing the profile or using the account to post new content or send messages.
X
It’s not possible to nominate a legacy contact on Elon Musk’s social media site. But family members or an authorized person can submit a request to deactivate a deceased user’s account.
Passwords
Besides the major online services, you’ll probably have dozens if not hundreds of other digital accounts that your survivors might need to access. You could just write all your login credentials down in a notebook and put it somewhere safe. But making a physical copy presents its own vulnerabilities. What if you lose track of it? What if someone finds it?
Instead, consider a password manager that has an emergency access feature. Password managers are digital vaults that you can use to store all your credentials. Some, like Keeper,Bitwarden and NordPass, allow users to nominate one or more trusted contacts who can access their keys in case of an emergency such as a death.
But there are a few catches: Those contacts also need to use the same password manager and you might have to pay for the service.
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Is there a tech challenge you need help figuring out? Write to us at onetechtip@ap.org with your questions.
The Canadian Paediatric Society says doctors should regularly screen children for reading difficulties and dyslexia, calling low literacy a “serious public health concern” that can increase the risk of other problems including anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural issues, with lifelong consequences.
New guidance issued Wednesday says family doctors, nurses, pediatricians and other medical professionals who care for school-aged kids are in a unique position to help struggling readers access educational and specialty supports, noting that identifying problems early couldhelp kids sooner — when it’s more effective — as well as reveal other possible learning or developmental issues.
The 10 recommendations include regular screening for kids aged four to seven, especially if they belong to groups at higher risk of low literacy, including newcomers to Canada, racialized Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The society says this can be done in a two-to-three-minute office-based assessment.
Other tips encourage doctors to look for conditions often seen among poor readers such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; to advocate for early literacy training for pediatric and family medicine residents; to liaise with schools on behalf of families seeking help; and to push provincial and territorial education ministries to integrate evidence-based phonics instruction into curriculums, starting in kindergarten.
Dr. Scott McLeod, one of the authors and chair of the society’s mental health and developmental disabilities committee, said a key goal is to catch kids who may be falling through the cracks and to better connect families to resources, including quicker targeted help from schools.
“Collaboration in this area is so key because we need to move away from the silos of: everything educational must exist within the educational portfolio,” McLeod said in an interview from Calgary, where he is a developmental pediatrician at Alberta Children’s Hospital.
“Reading, yes, it’s education, but it’s also health because we know that literacy impacts health. So I think that a statement like this opens the window to say: Yes, parents can come to their health-care provider to get advice, get recommendations, hopefully start a collaboration with school teachers.”
McLeod noted that pediatricians already look for signs of low literacy in young children by way of a commonly used tool known as the Rourke Baby Record, which offers a checklist of key topics, such as nutrition and developmental benchmarks, to cover in a well-child appointment.
But he said questions about reading could be “a standing item” in checkups and he hoped the society’s statement to medical professionals who care for children “enhances their confidence in being a strong advocate for the child” while spurring partnerships with others involved in a child’s life such as teachers and psychologists.
The guidance said pediatricians also play a key role in detecting and monitoring conditions that often coexist with difficulty reading such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but McLeod noted that getting such specific diagnoses typically involves a referral to a specialist, during which time a child continues to struggle.
He also acknowledged that some schools can be slow to act without a specific diagnosis from a specialist, and even then a child may end up on a wait list for school interventions.
“Evidence-based reading instruction shouldn’t have to wait for some of that access to specialized assessments to occur,” he said.
“My hope is that (by) having an existing statement or document written by the Canadian Paediatric Society … we’re able to skip a few steps or have some of the early interventions present,” he said.
McLeod added that obtaining specific assessments from medical specialists is “definitely beneficial and advantageous” to know where a child is at, “but having that sort of clear, thorough assessment shouldn’t be a barrier to intervention starting.”
McLeod said the society was partly spurred to act by 2022’s “Right to Read Inquiry Report” from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which made 157 recommendations to address inequities related to reading instruction in that province.
He called the new guidelines “a big reminder” to pediatric providers, family doctors, school teachers and psychologists of the importance of literacy.
“Early identification of reading difficulty can truly change the trajectory of a child’s life.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.
