1 Definitions
(a) "biological agent" includes sera, immune globulins,
vaccines and toxoids;
(b) "Board" means the Public He alth Appeal Board established
under section 3;
(c) "carrier" means a person w ho, without apparent symptoms
of a communicable disease, harbours and may disseminate
an infectious agent;
(d) "certificate" means a compulso ry examination and treatment
certificate;
(e) "Chief Medical Officer" mean s the Chief Medical Officer of
Health appointed by the Minister under section 13;
(e.1) repealed RSA 2000 cP-37 s77;
(f) "communicable disease" means an illness in humans that is
caused by an organism or micro-organism or its toxic
products and is transmitted directly or indirectly from an
infected person or animal or the environment;
(g) "community health nurse" m eans a registered nurse within
the meaning of the Health Professions Act who has the
qualifications set out in the regulations and who is employed
or engaged by a provincial health agency or a provincial
health corporation under the Provincial Health Agencies Act
or the Department to provide public health services;
(h) repealed 2021 c15 s2;
(i) "contamination" means the presence of an infectious agent
on a body surface, or on or in an inanimate article or
substance including food;
RSA 2000
(j) "council" means
(i) the council of a city, town, village, summer village,
municipal district or Metis settlement,
(ii) in the case of an improvement district, the Minister
responsible for the Municipal Government Act or a
person that Minister designates in writing for the
purpose, and
(iii) in the case of a special area, the Minister responsible for
the Special Areas Act or a person that Minister
designates in writing for the purpose;
(k) "Department" means the Depa rtment of which the Minister
is charged with the administration;
(l) "Deputy Chief Medical Of ficer" means a Deputy Chief
Medical Officer of Health appointed by the Minister under
section 13;
(m) "disinfection" means the destruction of infectious agents
outside the body by any means;
(n) "disinfestation" means the destruction or removal, by any
physical or chemical process, of animal forms present on
domestic animals or humans or in the environment;
(o) "epidemic" means the o ccurrence in a community of
persons of a number of cases of a communicable disease in
excess of normal expectations;
(p) "executive officer" means an executive officer within the
meaning of section 9 or 16;
(q) "facility" means any place where a person can receive
treatment for communicable diseases;
(r) "health practitioner" means any person who provides health
care or treatment to any person;
(r.1) "health services delivery organization" means a health
services delivery organization under the Provincial Health
Agencies Act;
(s) repealed 2025 c10 s47(2);
(t) "hospital" means an approved hospital under the Provincial
Health Agencies Act;
RSA 2000
(u) "immunization" means the ad ministration of a biological
agent to a person to increase that person's resistance to the
effect of an infectious agent or its toxic products;
(v) "infection" means the entry and multiplication of an
infectious agent in the body of a person or animal;
(w) "infectious agent" means an organism or micro-organism
that is capable of producing a communicable disease;
(x) "institution" means a correctional institution as defined in
the Corrections Act, a facility as defined in the Mental
Health Act, a continuing care home as defined in the
Continuing Care Act, the premises where a child care
program that is licensed under the Early Learning and Child
Care Act is offered or provided and a hostel or other
establishment operated to provide accommodation and
maintenance for unemployed or indigent persons and,
except in section 22, includes a supportive living
accommodation as defined in the Continuing Care Act;
(y) "isolation" means the separation of a person or animal
infected with a communicable disease from other persons or
animals in a place and under conditions that will prevent the
direct or indirect conveyance of the infectious agent from
the infected person or animal to a susceptible person or
animal;
(z) "laboratory" means a medical diagnostic laboratory where
examinations of specimens of blood, spinal fluid, sputum,
stool, urine, gastric washings, exudate or other specimen or
discharge derived from a body are made for the purpose of
determining the presence or absence of an infectious agent;
(aa) "legal representative" m eans a lawyer, an executor or
administrator of the estate of a deceased person, the trustee
or guardian of a represented adult under the Adult
Guardianship and Trusteeship Act, the agent designated in a
personal directive made by a person in accordance with the
Personal Directives Act and the trustee or guardian of a
minor;
(bb) "medical officer of health " means a physician appointed by
the Minister under this Act as a medical officer of health,
and includes the Chief Medical Officer and a Deputy Chief
Medical Officer;
RSA 2000
(cc) "Minister" means the Mini ster determined under section 16
of the Government Organization Act as the Minister
responsible for this Act;
(dd) "municipality" means a city, town, village, summer village,
municipal district, improvement district, special area and
Metis settlement;
(ee) "nuisance" means a condition that is or that might become
injurious or dangerous to the public health, or that might
hinder in any manner the prevention or suppression of
disease;
(ee.1) repealed 2005 c13 s8;
(ff) "owner" means the registered owner, and any person in the
actual or apparent possession or control of land or a
premises;
(ff.01) "peace officer" means a p eace officer as defined in the
Peace Officer Act;
(ff.1) "police officer " means a police officer as defined in the
Police Act;
(gg) "prescribed", with respect to a form, means a form that
(i) is in the form prescribed in the regulations, or
(ii) is in a form approved by the Minister, where no form has
been prescribed in the regulations;
(hh) "private place" means
(i) a private dwelling, and
(ii) privately owned land, whether or not it is used in
connection with a private dwelling;
(hh.01) "provincial health agency" means a provincial health agency
under the Provincial Health Agencies Act;
(hh.02) "provincial health corporation" means a provincial health
corporation under the Provincial Health Agencies Act;
(hh.1) "public health emergency" means an urgent and temporary
occurrence or threat of an occurrence of
(i) an illness,
RSA 2000
(ii) a health condition,
(iii) an epidemic or pandemic disease,
(iv) a novel or highly infectious agent or biological toxin, or
(v) the presence of a chemical agent or radioactive material
that poses a significant risk to the public of an increase in
disease, injuries, disabilities or deaths in excess of
expectations during times of normalcy;
(ii) "public place" includes any place in which the public has an
interest arising out of the need to safeguard the public health
and includes, without limitation,
(i) public conveyances and stations and terminals used in
connection with them,
(ii) places of business and pl aces where business activity is
carried on,
(iii) learning institutions,
(iv) institutions,
(v) places of entertainment or amusement,
(vi) places of assembly,
(vii) dining facilities and licensed premises,
(viii) accommodation facilitie s, including all rental
accommodation,
(ix) recreation facilities,
(x) medical, health, personal and social care facilities, and
(xi) any other building, stru cture or place visited by or
accessible to the public;
(jj) "quarantine" means
(i) in respect of persons or animals, the limitation of
freedom of movement and contact with other persons or
animals, and
(ii) in respect of premises, the prohibition against or the
limitation on entering or leaving the premises,
RSA 2000
during the incubation period of the communicable disease in
respect of which the quarantine is imposed;
(kk) "regional health authority" means a regional health authority
under the Provincial Health Agencies Act;
(ll) repealed 2002 c20 s2;
(mm) "school" means
(i) a school operating under the Education Act,
(ii) a place where an early ch ildhood services program is
offered or provided, and
(iii) the premises wh ere a child care program that is licensed
under the Early Learning and Child Care Act is offered
or provided;
(nn) "sexually transmitted inf ections clinic" means a clinic
operated by the Minister or a provincial health agency for
the purposes of prevention and treatment of sexually
transmitted infections;
(oo) "teacher" includes an in structor, lecturer, professor,
principal, president, supervisor or superintendent of any
school, college, university, polytechnic institution,
comprehensive community college or other learning
institution;
(pp) "terminal decontamination" means the decontamination of
(i) the clothing of a person,
(ii) the physical envi ronment of a person,
(iii) the contents of the isolation room, and
(iv) any article or piece of equi pment used in the diagnosis or
treatment of a person
after the person has been removed from isolation or has
ceased to be a source of infection or after isolation
procedures have been discontinued.
(2) Repealed RSA 2000 cP-37 s77.
RSA 2000 cP-37 ss1,77;RSA 2000 cH-7 s147;2002 c20 s2; 2002 c32 s12;
2005 c13 s8;2007 cC-10.5 s29;2008 cA-4.2 s149;2009 cS-23.5 s26;
2012 cE-0.3 s282;2013 cS-19.3 s25;2016 c25 s2;2018 c19 s74;
2020 c5 s2;2020 c13 s12;2020 c31 s40;2021 c15 s2;2022 cC-26.7 s77;
2024 c10 s34;2024 c16 s20;2025 c10 s47(2);2025 c21 s16
RSA 2000
2 Repealed 2025 c10 s47(3).