FREDERICTON — New Brunswick is reimposing travel restrictions on residents of a Quebec border region that has seen an uptick in COVID-19 cases.

Premier Blaine Higgs said today in a news release residents of the Temiscouata region will no longer be able to take day trips to New Brunswick.

Residents of the area, which is close to Edmundston, N.B., will still be allowed to cross into New Brunswick for essential reasons including medical appointments, approved work and child custody arrangements.

Otherwise, all previously approved day trips are cancelled and individuals returning to New Brunswick from the region must once again self-isolate for 14 days unless they have an exemption.

New Brunswick had loosened travel restrictions Aug. 1 for three border regions in Quebec, including the southern Gaspe area bordering Campbellton, N.B., as well as the Listuguj First Nation in Quebec.

Higgs says the new travel rules for residents of Temiscouata are based on the evolving COVID-19 situation in Quebec and don't include the other two regions, whose residents are still allowed to cross for day trips if they pre-register.

"This is a cabinet and COVID-19 all-party cabinet committee decision that took into consideration public health advice including epidemiology reports, rising cases and recent change in alerts levels in the Bas-Saint-Laurent region of Quebec," Higgs said in the statement.

New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health, Jennifer Russell, said the province would continue to monitor the situation along the border.

Meanwhile, the number of COVID-19 cases in New Brunswick remained at 194, including 190 recoveries and two deaths. The province also extended its state of emergency today.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17, 2020.

The Canadian Press