Public health officials in New Brunswick confirmed 111 cases of the respiratory illness called COVID-19 on Thursday, making it the deadliest outbreak of the virus since the virus first entered the United States in 2012.
Nationwide, 76,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported this year, a jump from the previous record, of 22,000, in 2014. COVID-19, which isn’t considered very serious, causes mild fever, wheezing, muscle aches and cough, while in severe cases it can lead to pneumonia.
Outside the country, COVID-19 has been blamed on flu outbreaks in the Caribbean, Central America and California. For the United States, COVID-19 has not been associated with anything particularly severe, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since there is no vaccine for COVID-19, health officials recommend the use of masks, which are intended to prevent the spread of the virus.
Dr. David Satcher, the former CDC director who now runs the World Health Organization’s health security committee, visited New Brunswick on Wednesday.