COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and cases in N.S. decrease in the month of February

A nurse gets a swab ready to perform a test on a patient at a drive-in COVID-19 clinic in Montreal, on Wednesday, October 21, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paul Chiasson

The number of COVID-19 deaths, hospitalizations and cases in Nova Scotia decreased in February, according to monthly COVID-19 numbers released by the province Wednesday.

The report shows that 15 people died due to COVID-19 in February, compared to 27 in January.

Of the February deaths, 87 per cent were aged 70 or older, while 33 per cent were people living in a long-term care facility.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped to 119 in February, compared to 189 the month before.

The province says people 70 and older are 29 times more likely to be hospitalized with the virus compared to 18 to 49 year-olds. They are 28 times more likely to die from the virus compared to people between the ages of 50 and 69.

NEW CASES

PCR-confirmed cases of COVID-19 decreased to 1,595 in February, compared to 3,310 in January.

VACCINATION

The province says people who were unvaccinated or had not completed their primary series were hospitalized or died at two times the rate as those who received a booster shot within 168 days.

As of March 6, nearly 54 per cent of Nova Scotians had three or more doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, 28 per cent had two doses and 19 per cent had one or no doses.

Nova Scotia’s full COVID-19 report for February is available online.