16 COVID deaths in Nova Scotia this week
Today, February 16, Nova Scotia is reporting four new hospital admissions and nine discharges.
Nova Scotia is also reporting three additional deaths related to COVID-19 that occurred between February 6 and 12:
a woman in her 50s in Eastern Zone
a woman in her 60s in Western Zone
a man in his 70s in Eastern Zone.
“My heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the people who lost their lives to COVID-19,” said Premier Tim Houston. “It is a painful reminder of the devastating impact this disease continues to have on individuals, families and communities.”
There are 66 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 and are receiving specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit.
That includes nine people in ICU.
The age range of those in hospital is 0 to 93 years old.
The median age is 62, and the median length of stay of people admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is 6.2 days.
Of the 66 people in hospital, 63 were admitted during the Omicron wave.
“Today, three more families are grieving an unimaginable loss,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. “From the start of this pandemic, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable people in our communities – and that has not changed. That’s why it’s still so important to take care of one another. And the best way to do that is to get vaccinated, stay home if you’re sick, and follow the public health guidance in place to keep everyone safe.”
The vaccination status of those in hospital is:
19 (28.8 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
24 (36.4 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
1 (1.5 per cent) is partially vaccinated
22 (33.3 per cent) are unvaccinated.
It is important to note that less than 10 per cent of Nova Scotians are unvaccinated.
There are also two other groups of people in hospital related to COVID-19:
131 people who were identified as positive upon arrival at hospital but were admitted for another medical reason, or were admitted for COVID-19 but no longer require specialized care
164 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.
Vaccine Coverage:
As of February 15, 2,188,378 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.
Of those, 91.6 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their first dose, and 85.8 per cent have received their second dose.
As well, 60.3 per cent of Nova Scotians 18 and older have received a booster dose, and 1.8 per cent have booked a booster dose appointment.
Cases and Testing:
On February 15, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 1,734 tests.
An additional 223 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.
There are 62 cases in Central Zone, 70 cases in Eastern Zone, 36 cases in Northern Zone and 55 cases in Western Zone.
As of today, there are an estimated 2,572 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.