Nova Scotia reported 13 additional deaths linked to COVID-19 in the most recent weekly epidemiology report.
That’s nearly half of last week’s number, when the province reported 24 deaths over a seven-day period ending May 16. Since the start of the Omicron variant, there have been a total of 279 deaths linked to the virus, and the median age of those who died is 81.
Seven of the newly reported deaths included residents of long term care facilities.
Between May 17 and 23, public health also reported 1,584 new PCR-confirmed cases of COVID-19, another drop compared to the 2,513 in the previous report.
The number of hospitalizations also continues to decline, said the province in Thursday’s release. There were 40 new hospital admissions in the week ending May 23, down from the 59 reported last week.
According to public health, the risk of hospitalization remains more than 10 times higher for individuals aged 70 and up compared to those younger than 50.
As of Thursday, 65.6 per cent of adult Nova Scotians have received at least one booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Nearly 60,000 people have received two booster shots, or four doses.
The province continues to recommend a second booster shot to those aged 70 and up, as people in that age group are at higher risk of being hospitalized or dying from the virus.
Nova Scotia has been in the midst of the sixth wave of the pandemic since March 1, but health officials have previously said we have passed the peak of the wave.