HALIFAX—Too few New Brunswickers are taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously and avoiding public gatherings, Premier Blaine Higgs said Thursday, before declaring a state of emergency to give his government more power to manage the crisis.

The premier invoked the provincial Emergencies Measures Act to order all public schools, universities and colleges closed indefinitely. He ordered non-essential retail stores to stop admitting the public immediately.

Certain exceptions to his order apply, including grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor and cannabis stores operated by the province, as well as auto-repair shops, gas stations, post offices and hardware stores. Higgs added that food and beverage companies can now only offer takeout options, while all bars must close.

Higgs says his directives are no longer suggestions and all citizens, under law, must comply.

“It has become clear that there are still too many people in our province who are not following the advice of our public health officials — or are deliberately ignoring them,” he told reporters. “This has compelled our government to take these measures.”

He made the order despite the fact the province did not report an increase in COVID-19 cases. Authorities said Thursday the tally of presumptive and confirmed cases stood unchanged at 11.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia reported two new cases of COVID-19, bringing that province’s total to 14. Health officials said the two new cases were identified Wednesday, and both are travel-related.

There are five confirmed and nine presumptive cases in Nova Scotia. The 14 affected individuals range in age from their early 30s to mid-70s and the cases are located across the province.

Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, said a case identified earlier in the week was admitted to hospital Wednesday night and was reported to be doing well.

However, Strang also warned about two potential public exposures to the virus, which he said were “low-risk.”

The first occurred at a basketball tournament between March 5 and 7 at the gymnasiums at the Halifax Grammar School and at the Homburg Centre on the Saint Mary’s University campus.

“Public Health has investigated this and it is considered a low-risk exposure,” Strang said. “Anybody who was known to be in close contact with the case has already been identified.”

He said the other case was at Dalhousie University where someone was diagnosed with COVID-19. He said health officials were in the process of alerting those who may have been in contact with that person.

“These are examples of how this is going to play out in the coming days to weeks,” Strang said. “At some point, we will get some community spread.”

Nova Scotia also announced measures to help those who are vulnerable, including an extra $2.2 million to help those on income-assistance pay for food, cleaning supplies and personal-care items and $1 million for Feed Nova Scotia to help the food bank hire extra staff.

Authorities in Prince Edward Island announced the province’s second case of COVID-19 on Thursday, with 89 people under investigation.

The Island’s chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, said the patient is a man from Queens County in his 40s who had been travelling in the United Kingdom and is now self-isolating at home.

Morrison also took the opportunity to clarify closures to in-store shopping at government-run liquor stores, which took effect at 2 p.m.

The measure was announced Wednesday and led to long lineups at some outlets with people in close quarters — images that were circulated on social media and led to Morrison voicing her displeasure and disappointment in Islanders.

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Morrison said Thursday that she should have been clearer that other options are being explored and that agency stores and breweries would remain open.

“I’m sorry I was not as clear as I should have been,” Morrison said. “I know it created an issue yesterday that was really unintended.”

In Newfoundland and Labrador, chief medical officer Janice Fitzgerald said the province has confirmed its first positive case of COVID-19, which came from a test given to a patient last week. The province has two other presumptive cases for which it is awaiting confirmation, and it is monitoring 276 people who are in self-isolation.

The province reported no new cases of COVID-19, but Fitzgerald urged parents to avoid planning sleepovers and play dates for their children, and asked young people not to congregate in groups.

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