Free rapid test kits will be available to the public at large across New Brunswick starting Monday, Public Health announced Friday, as the province recorded two more COVID-related deaths and 87 new cases of COVID-19.

The announcement comes on the heels of free rapid test kits being offered to people in circuit breaker areas.

"Sadly, two more people have lost their lives. We must do everything we can to reduce the spread of the virus, protecting ourselves, our loved ones and our communities," Premier Blaine Higgs said in a statement.

Some experts have called for wider use of rapid tests in the province, saying they could "put a lid" on transmission by identifying asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic people and helping to prevent spread.

A person in their 90s in the Fredericton region, Zone 3, and a person in their 70s in the Edmundston region, Zone 4 have died "as a result of COVID-19," according to a news release.

No other information about them, such as their vaccination status or whether they lived at a long-term care home where there's a COVID-19 outbreak, has been provided.

Their deaths bring the death toll to 84.

There are 60 people in hospital because of the virus, including 18 in intensive care. That's down from 63 and 19 respectively on Thursday. No one under the age of 19 is hospitalized.

The total active case count is 1,064.

People who have not been identified as a close contact of a positive case and do not have any symptoms will be able to pick up free rapid test kits at 20 locations and administer them at home.

If they test positive, it's important they make an appointment to get a follow-up polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, said Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell. A PCR test is considered the gold standard diagnostic test.

The kits, which each contain five tests to be used over 10 days, will be available at the following locations:

The program is only for people age two and older. People age 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult to acquire a testing kit.

Public Health has distributed more than a million rapid test kits across the province so far, said Russell.

"We have been using them in long-term care settings and at schools, and local chambers of commerce have been distributing them to businesses," she said.

Of the new cases, 52 – or 60 per cent – are unvaccinated, nine – or 10 per cent – are partially vaccinated, and 26 – or 30 per cent – are fully vaccinated, Public Health said.

Of those in hospital, 31 are unvaccinated, six are partially vaccinated and 23 are fully vaccinated.

None of the 18 in intensive care are fully vaccinated and only two are partially vaccinated.

A total of 82.1 per cent of New Brunswickers age 12 or older are fully vaccinated, up from 81.8 per cent on Thursday, while 91.2 per cent of the eligible population have received their first dose, up from 91.

The province's goal is to get at least 90 per cent of the total population — not just eligible population — double-dosed now that the highly transmissible delta variant is the dominant strain driving the fourth wave.

"It is important to remember that getting vaccinated and following Public Health measures are our best defence against the spread of the virus," said Russell.

"When you choose not to get vaccinated against COVID-19, you are increasing your risk of transmission and hospitalization."

The new cases are spread across six of the seven health zones. Here is the breakdown:

Twenty-seven of these cases are under investigation and two are contacts of previously confirmed cases.

Saint John region, Zone 2, nine cases:

Five of these cases are under investigation and four are contacts of previously confirmed cases.

Sixteen of these cases are under investigation and the other is a contact of a previously confirmed case.

Fourteen of these cases are under investigation and two are contacts of previously confirmed cases.

Seven of these cases are under investigation and six are contacts of previously confirmed cases.

Bathurst region, Zone 6, three cases:

All three cases are under investigation.

New Brunswick has had 5,669 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with 4,520 recoveries so far.

A total of 501,435 tests have been conducted to date, including 2,421 on Thursday.

Premier Blaine Higgs says he supports Canada keeping its negative COVID-19 PCR test requirement at land borders for people travelling from the United States, even if they're fully vaccinated.

The United States has announced it will reopen its borders to fully vaccinated Canadians on Nov. 8.

Non-essential travellers crossing at a land border will be required to show proof of vaccination or attest to their vaccination status upon request by a border agent, but unlike air travellers, there will be no requirement for them to show a negative COVID-19 test.

But Canada's policy, requiring a negative polymerase chain reaction test three days prior to arrival, will remain in place, at least for now, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland told CBC News on Thursday.

Higgs believes maintaining the policy "would be beneficial at this stage, at least at the beginning."

"I think that right now there's a lot of people that are still pretty concerned,"  he told CBC's Power and Politics.I mean, "We're going through a wave here in New Brunswick as well," with record cases, hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths.  "And we border [the] state of Maine."

Once the borders reopen, Higgs thinks the rule could be dropped after a few weeks or months.

"I'd like to think we'd get back to normal and our protocols would be similar on both sides of the border."

The Canada-U.S. border has been closed for non-essential travel since the early days of the pandemic in March 2020. Canada opened its border to U.S. travellers in early August.

Rapid COVID-19 tests will be available to some people in circuit breaker areas starting Saturday, and the mayor of Grand Falls says he hopes people in his town take advantage of the opportunity.

Grand Falls is located in the Edmundston region, Zone 4, one of the COVID "hot spots" under circuit breaker restrictions for another week to limit the spread of the virus and reduce further hospitalizations.

The Grand Falls General Hospital is at 105 per cent capacity, but had no COVID patients, as of Thursday, according to an update from the Vitalité Health Network.

Mayor Marcel Deschênes says residents have been doing everything asked of them and are feeling frustrated after things were going so well in the summer.

He encourages them to make use of the free rapid test kits the province announced Thursday it will provide to people who have not been identified as close contacts of positive cases and do not have any symptoms.

They should do anything they can to help get through this period, he said. But he stopped short of explicitly urging people to get vaccinated.

"I mean it's a personal choice in a sense, but most of our people have been vaccinated and it's still going on and for whatever reason, we don't know the count in our area, but we're being told it's moving in the right direction," Deschênes said. "So let's just hope that continues.

"And the statement that we're making is whatever we can do to make a difference let's do it together because we're all in this together."

Deschênes says a fully vaccinated member of council tested positive for COVID last week, but all the other council members have tested negative so far.

Rapid tests will be available for pickup Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the rear parking lot of the Grand Falls Town Hall, at 131 Pleasant St.

The province says they'll also be handed out in the Magic Mountain parking lot in Moncton (150 Magic Mountain Rd.) and at Perth-Andover Middle School (20 Nissen St.)

The program is only for people age two or older. People age 16 and under must be accompanied by an adult to acquire a testing kit.

All members of the legislative assembly will have to provide proof they are fully vaccinated, or have a medical exemption, by Oct, 29, to enter the New Brunswick Legislature.

Shayne Davies, the clerk of the legislative assembly, advised MLAs in a memo Thursday that they are now subject to the mandatory vaccination requirement.

It follows a decision of the legislative administration committee Wednesday.

Because of the separation of the legislative and executive branches, and the privileges accorded to MLAs, the previous mandatory order for government employees to provide proof of vaccination did not extend to them.

No law or policy can prevent an MLA from attending the chamber — only a decision by the chamber itself, or one of its committees, can limit MLA access to the chamber.

All full-time and part-time employees of the legislative assembly, including political staff, contractors, volunteers, and onsite vendors and suppliers have had to provide proof of full vaccination, or medical exemption, to human resources since Sept. 13.

Members of the public have had to show proof of full vaccination, or medical exemption, to building security upon entry since Oct. 4.

"The purpose of these policies is to provide a safe and secure environment for all Members, employees and visitors to the building," wrote Davies.

The human resources officer at the legislative assembly will maintain a confidential list of all MLAs who have shown proof of full vaccination, according to the notice. "Note, we will not keep a copy of your vaccination record," Davies said.

Travel passes obtained under the province's former system by filling out a PDF registration document that had to be emailed, will expire Oct. 31, according to an email notice the province is sending to travel pass holders.

The new online system to register travel is now up and running and people who obtained a pass prior to the afternoon of Sept. 27 must re-register.

Anyone entering the province must pre-register through the New Brunswick Travel Registration Program, including New Brunswickers.

Travellers who complete the new online registration form will receive "an automatic approval with conditions of travel shared in an attached PDF file," the email states.

"If you are vaccinated, you are only required to register your travel into the online system once, after which your approval is good indefinitely for entry into New Brunswick at any border crossing from any location."

People who are unvaccinated must register each time they enter New Brunswick.

When the new system was announced Sept. 28, the Department of Justice and Public Safety confirmed to CBC News the old passes would be expiring, although a date had not yet been set. Spokesperson Coreen Enos had said an announcement would be made a week before they expire.

In the Moncton region, Zone 1, a new case or cases have been confirmed at Forest Glen School and Northrop Frye School, both located in Moncton and have been previously impacted.

In the Saint John region, Zone 2, a case has been confirmed at St. Stephen High School.

In the Fredericton region, Zone 3, a new case has been confirmed at Liverpool Street Elementary School, which was previously impacted.

In the Edmundston region, Zone 4, a new case or cases have been confirmed at Polyvalente A.J. Savoie in Saint-Quentin and École Régionale-de-Saint-André, which were both previously impacted.

In the Campbellton region, Zone 5, a new case has been confirmed at Sugarloaf Senior High School in Campbellton.

People who have been in close contact with a confirmed case will be notified directly by Public Health or the school or facility for contact tracing, according to a news release.

Under New Brunswick's Healthy and Safe Schools guidelines, schools with cases will close or move to online learning for at least one calendar day to support contact tracing, risk assessments and operational responses.

Since Sept. 7, 99 schools and 53 early learning and child-care facilities have had confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Student-to-student transmission has been confirmed, Public Health has said, but the number and location of cases has not been released.

The total number of positive cases at each school and whether they involve students, teachers or staff have not been released either.

Nova Scotia announced 18 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the active caseload to 199. Fourteen people are in hospital with COVID-19, including one in intensive care.

Newfoundland and Labrador reported four new cases and 53 active cases during Friday's update. Nine people are in hospital, four of them in critical care.

Prince Edward Island confirmed three new cases, and the province has seven active cases.

Public Health has identified a positive case of COVID-19 in a traveller who may have been infectious while on the following flight:

The following are other new public exposures released by Public Health on Friday:

Public Health recommends that people who have been at a possible public exposure site and are not fully vaccinated get a COVID test, even if they don't have symptoms. They can book an appointment online or call Tele-Care 811.

If they do have symptoms, they must isolate while they await their results.

For people who are fully vaccinated, Public Health recommends they monitor for symptoms for 14 days after the possible exposure and get a COVID test if symptoms develop.

Anyone who frequented the locations at the specified dates and times should also avoid visiting settings with vulnerable populations such as nursing homes, correctional facilities and shelters for the next 14 days.

The following are exposure notices from the past few weeks. For the full list beyond this time period, please visit the Government of New Brunswick's website, which was redesigned Tuesday and now clearly separates new exposure notices from previously reported exposure notices.

Public Health has identified a positive case of COVID-19 in a traveller who may have been infectious while on the following flight:

People concerned they might have COVID-19 can take a self-assessment test online.

Public Health says symptoms of the illness have included a fever above 38 C, a new or worsening cough, sore throat, runny nose, headache, a new onset of fatigue, and difficulty breathing.

In children, symptoms have also included purple markings on the fingers and toes.

People with one of those symptoms should stay at home, call 811 or their doctor and follow instructions.

With files from Information Morning Fredericton and Jacques Poitras

To encourage thoughtful and respectful conversations, first and last names will appear with each submission to CBC/Radio-Canada's online communities (except in children and youth-oriented communities). Pseudonyms will no longer be permitted.

By submitting a comment, you accept that CBC has the right to reproduce and publish that comment in whole or in part, in any manner CBC chooses. Please note that CBC does not endorse the opinions expressed in comments. Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Join the conversation  Create account

Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6

Toll-free (Canada only): 1-866-306-4636

TTY/Teletype writer: 1-866-220-6045

It is a priority for CBC to create a website that is accessible to all Canadians including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges.

Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem.