Listen for these stories on Monday’s Tantramar Report:

COVID-19 update: Six deaths over the weekend, active cases drop to 935

Six more people died over the weekend with COVID-19. Two deaths in Zone 1 were reported Saturday, along with one in Mirimachi. Two people were in their 90s, and one in their 80s. On Sunday, public health reported three deaths in Zone 5, the Campbellton region. Two people who died were in their 40s and one person was in their 80s.

There are 57 people in hospital due to the virus, with 18 in an intensive care unit.

Just three of every 10 people in the province have not yet been fully vaccinated, and that includes children under 12, who are not yet eligible. In terms of the 12 and over crowd, it’s less than 2 people for every 10 people that are not yet fully vaccinated.

And yet, the majority of people in hospital are unvaccinated adults, meaning the rate of serious illness is much higher in those without a full vaccination. Of the 18 people in an intensive care unit, none are fully vaccinated, says the province. And 35 out of the 57 people in hospital are not yet fully vaccinated.

Public Health reported 58 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, 15 of those in Zone 1. With recoveries, the active case count dropped for the third day in a row, to 935 cases. 320 of those active cases are in Zone 1.

Drew awaits results from Friday testing

A lot is riding on results from testing that took place Friday at the Drew Nursing Home in Sackville.

A round of testing conducted Friday, Oct. 8 yielded just one positive result. Then testing on Tuesday, Oct.12 yielded all negative results. If the tests conducted Friday, Oct. 15, as well as the next round scheduled for tomorrow, remain fully negative, there’s a chance that Public Health could declare the outbreak over as soon as this Friday, Oct. 22. Executive Director Linda Shannon shared that news in a memo to families late last week.

Since Sept. 13, the Drew has had 40 cases of COVID-19, with 30 in residents and 10 in staff. Eight people have died from the disease.

Rapid test distribution continues today in Moncton

This past weekend, the province’s newly expanded rapid test program kicked off with 37,500 test kits distributed to New Brunswickers at three locations in the province.

The kits are proving to be popular. The Moncton pick up location ran out of test kits within 2.5 hours of starting distribution on Saturday morning.

Today, the program expands to include 10 locations around the province, each allotted double the amount originally planned. There are two locations for pickups in Moncton:

• Greater Moncton Health Centre, 150 Edmonton Ave., Monday to Thursday, 3pm to 9pm; Friday, 1pm to 5pm; Saturday, 9am to noon.
• Caledonia Industrial Park, 380 MacNaughton Ave., Monday to Friday, 10am to 6pm.

Read here for more information.

Culture Days coming to Sackville, courtesy of Mount Allison students

This Tuesday, students in the Arts and Culture Marketing course at Mount Allison University have put together a roster of events to celebrate Culture Days, a national celebration designed to highlight the importance of arts and culture within communities. There will be a mix of both in-person and online activities that can be enjoyed from home, including a community art walk, a radio show, a film stream, a collective chalk activity, and a live performance to be enjoyed over Zoom. Tune in to CHMA at 3 p.m. Tuesday to kick off the day’s events with Tales and Tunes.

Find out more online here. New Brunswick and Mount Allison University health protocols apply to all events.

Mini-events include:
Tales & Tunes (CHMA 106.9 FM) – 3-4:00 PM
Our Neighbours Art (exhibition only) – 4-6:00 Tweedie Hall, Mount Allison
Chalk Talk – 3-6:00 PM – Mount Allison quad at Main St.
Film for Thought (film series) – 7-8:00 PM on Zoom
Recital of Culture (drama) – 5-6:00 on Zoom
Sackville Ramen Film Festival – Oct. 19-21, 7:00 PM

Ramen Film Festival comes to Sackville

On today’s Tantramar Report, we talk with Dr. Tim Reiffenstein who teaches the Japanese Foodways class at Mount Allison University, and is the driving force behind the Ramen Film Festival.

Students in Reiffenstein’s class are offering up screenings of three films centred on ramen, the Japanese noodle dish:

• Tampopo – Tuesday, Oct. 19, 7 p.m., in Flemington 116
• Ramen Heads – Wednesday, Oct. 20, 7 p.m., at Vogue Cinema
• Ramen Girl – Thursday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m., in Flemington 116

Check out the Facebook event for more information. Here’s one Mount Allison student making a musical pitch for the festival, and for ramen itself: