It has been over two weeks since public health orders regarding COVID-19 were lifted. In that time, case numbers have continued to be low with the exception of the far north where there have been some outbreaks.

Health minister Paul Merriman says those low numbers are encouraging. He says it was nice to see no uptake after the restrictions were lifted.

Merriman says he knows not everyone will get a vaccine, but he is happy to see the numbers where they are. He says he would like to see around 80 to 85 percent of eligible people vaccinated. That number currently stands at just over 60 percent.

Those 12 and over who have had their first shot is nearing the 75 percent mark while those 12 and over who are fully vaccinated is now over 60 percent.

Merriman reminds those who aren’t fully vaccinated or have had one shot yet that the battle is not done. He says we still had over two thousand COVID cases in June. The good news is that of those who were vaccinated, very few ended up in hospital and none in Intensive Care.

(CKRM)