The Council of Atlantic Premiers has decided to postpone the reopening of the Atlantic Bubble for at least another two weeks.
The original plan was to loosen restrictions on Monday, April 19, but a recent surge in cases of COVID-19 and the presence of variants of concern caused the provinces to reconsider.
As of Tuesday, New Brunswick is reporting 132 active cases of COVID-19, while Nova Scotia has 45, 11 in Newfoundland and Labrador, and PEI is reporting seven active cases.
Based on the advice of the Atlantic region’s Chief Medical Officers of Health, and as long as all goes well, the new date to reopen the bubble is May 3.
The Council says the two-week delay will allow the provinces more time to deal with localized outbreaks and continue the rollout of vaccinations.
Another meeting of the Premiers will be held in the last week of April to determine whether another delay is required.