FREDERICTON – Green Party leader and MLA for Fredericton South David Coon is calling on Premier Blaine Higgs to re-institute isolation requirements for travelers who are not fully vaccinated coming into New Brunswick from outside of the Atlantic provinces and the Avignon, Matapédia and Témiscouata regions of Quebec. This would bring New Brunswick in line with Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, all of which require unvaccinated travelers to isolate.

“Considering the severeness of the Delta variant, to protect New Brunswickers, the Premier must require travelers who have chosen not to be vaccinated to isolate upon arrival in New Brunswick,” said Coon. “For a year and a half, we have kept case counts and hospitalizations down in New Brunswick and across Atlantic Canada. As a province, we must do our part to ensure this continues.”

Unvaccinated travelers from outside of Atlantic Canada are required to isolate for at least a week upon entering Newfoundland and Labrador, for 8 days upon entering Prince Edward Island and for up to 14 days upon entering Nova Scotia.

“Given the explosion of cases of the Delta variant that we have seen in places with high vaccination rates, such as the United Kingdom, it is imperative that the Premier acts now,” said Coon. “We can’t afford to wait until there are significant hospitalizations before government acts. The chance to avoid this is right now by ensuring visitors from outside our region are fully vaccinated or have isolated appropriately if they are not.”