FREDERICTON 鈥� With high levels of respiratory illness in New Brunswick, the province urgently needs ramped-up infection reporting and a public update on the state of the health system, the official Opposition's health critic says.聽
Liberal Rob McKee said in an interview Wednesday that he鈥檚 disappointed by what he considers 鈥渞adio silence鈥� from the provincial government about current pressures on the health system caused by influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19.
McKee said he鈥檚 hearing about the surge of illness from his constituents and he鈥檚 seeing it first-hand in his family and Moncton neighbourhood.
鈥淭his is affecting a lot of people 鈥� so many kids are sick. My own kids, kids on their hockey teams,鈥� he said.聽
鈥淭his is like something we鈥檝e never seen before with the triple threat of viruses going around,鈥� he added.
The province releases weekly COVID-19 and flu updates, which are reported with a seven-day and 10-day lag, respectively. The most recent reports identified 606 COVID-19 cases between Nov. 27 and Dec. 3 and 513 reported cases of the flu between Nov. 20 and 26.聽
The province does not share data on respiratory syncytial virus because it鈥檚 not a reportable disease under New Brunswick鈥檚 Public Health Act. McKee tabled a motion in the legislature Wednesday that would amend the act to include RSV.聽
McKee said people in his community are concerned about the circulating illnesses and how the increase in patients is affecting hospitals and health clinics.
The Liberal member of the legislature said the province should hold a news conference to share details on the state of New Brunswick鈥檚 health system and inform residents how best minimize the risk of getting sick.聽
Adam Bowie, a spokesperson for New Brunswick鈥檚 Department of Health, said in an email that the province鈥檚 acting chief medical officer of health, Dr. Yves L茅ger, would share information with the province 鈥渋f there were new or important developments.鈥� He added that L茅ger held a media availability with reporters on Nov. 18.
McKee said he felt that briefing was insufficient.聽
"The government and Public Health need to show some leadership right now and speak directly to New Brunswickers through a public, livestreamed press conference followed by questions from the media,鈥� he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2022.
By Lyndsay Armstrong in Halifax
---
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press 撸奶社区 Fellowship.
The Canadian Press
