Nova Scotia reported seven deaths related to COVID-19, six new hospitalizations and four discharges on Monday.
The last COVID-19 update from the province was on Friday.
According to the province, the deaths involve:
- a man in his 30s in Central Zone
- a man in his 60s in Central Zone
- a woman in her 60s in Northern Zone
- a man in his 70s in Northern Zone
- a man in his 80s in Northern Zone
- two women in their 80s in Central Zone
The province noted that data on deaths comes from the public health’s disease information system, and that data is only entered after the death is identified to be COVID-related, which can take days or weeks to investigate and report.
“The majority of data on deaths is reflective of virus activity in the past, at the point of infection, and not the situation today, at the point of reporting,” read a release from the province.
There are currently 45 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 complications. Their ages range from five to 92, with a median age of 59.
The median length of stay is 6.6 days.
The vaccination status of those in hospital is:
- 11 (24.4 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
- 20 (44.4 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
- 1 (2.2 per cent) is partially vaccinated
- 13 (28.9 per cent) are unvaccinated
The province noted that less than 10 per cent of Nova Scotians are unvaccinated.
In addition to those numbers, another 122 people are in hospital who tested positive upon arrival but were admitted for another reason or were admitted for COVID-19 but no longer require specialized care. Another 166 people contracted the virus after being admitted to hospital.
Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 4,902 tests between Friday and Sunday. Those tests resulted in 887 new lab-confirmed cases. Of those, 429 cases were in Central Zone, which includes Halifax.
“There will be an increase in new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported. This is expected and is a result of people with positive rapid tests being able to get a confirmatory PCR test,” the province stated.
“New cases reported will now show a greater proportion of overall cases in the province.”
As of Monday, there are an estimated 1,967 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.
Monday also marks the lifting of the province’s proof of vaccination policy for “discretionary activates,” including dining in restaurants.
The provincial government plans to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions on March 21, including masking mandates and gathering limits.
Hospital outbreaks
NSHA reported additional cases at ongoing outbreaks in three hospitals:
- one additional patient in a ward at Hants Community Hospital in Windsor; fewer than 10 patients have now tested positive
- one additional patient in a ward at Cape Breton Regional Hospital; 10 patients have now tested positive
- one additional patient in a separate ward at Cape Breton Regional Hospital; 12 patients have now tested positive