New Brunswick public health has changed its definition of a deceased COVID-19 case.
In a Friday technical briefing, chief epidemiologist Mathieu Chalifoux said deaths are now being reported if there is a clinical indication that COVID-19 was either the primary cause of death, or directly contributed to the death.
Following a review, the province has added another 125 deaths to the COVID-19 death toll between March 1, 2020 and May 31, 2022. It has removed 46 cases.
The toll for that period is now 498, up by 79 compared to what was previously reported.
Chalifoux said there were minimal changes for all of 2020 and 2021. “This suggests that our count in this period were accurate, and reflective of COVID-19 activity at the time,” he said.
But, a large discrepancy was observed in 2022.
“(This) reflects, in part, a large volume of activity observed during the Omicron wave,” he said. “Counts in the Omicron wave did not accurately reflect the situation as it unfolded.”
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Chalifoux said public health did not identify the single cause for this discrepancy.
“We recognize that no surveillance system is perfect,” he said, adding there is room for improvement.
“While we know that not all jurisdictions report deaths in the same manner, or with the same definition, we are confident in our New Brunswick rate following this reconciliation exercise,” Chalifoux said.
The epidemiologist said even with the new higher toll, the death toll in the province remains one of the lowest rates in the country.
The province released its latest COVIDWATCH report on Wednesday, for the seven-day period ending Oct. 8, in which an increase in hospitalizations was reported.
Another 27 individuals were admitted to hospital for complications with COVID-19, up from the 19 reported last week.
Three deaths linked to COVID-19 were also reported, for a total of 572 deaths — though that number may be out of date with the new changes announced Friday.
Another 631 new PCR-confirmed cases of the virus were also reported in the week ending Oct. 8, in an increase from last week. The data did not include rapid test results.
The province estimated there were 843 active COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.
The report also showed that New Brunswickers are rolling their sleeves up to receive their booster shots of the vaccine. About 22.5 per cent of eligible residents now have at least four doses of the vaccine.
— More to come.
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