N.B. reports 5 new deaths related to COVID-19 Tuesday, 10 new hospital admissions

New Brunswick reported five new deaths related to COVID-19 on Tuesday.

The new deaths involve a person aged 90 and over in the Moncton region (Zone 1), two people in their 70s in the Saint John region (Zone 2),and two people in their 80s in the Saint John region.

There have been 243 deaths reported in New Brunswick since the start of the pandemic, with more than 80 of those recorded since the start of January.

New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health says, while the Omicron variant has taken over, the Delta variant is still present.

"In terms of the deaths, 74 per cent of the deaths have been Omicron, and 26 per cent have been Delta, so the Delta cases carry with it a higher risk of severe outcomes and death," says Dr. Jennifer Russell.

According to the province, 61.86 per cent of the deaths have been in people with partial or no vaccine protection, while 38.14 per cent were "protected, which Public Health defines as boosted or fully vaccinated less than six months.

Russell says their strategy throughout the pandemic has been to protect hospitals, as well as those considered vulnerable and at an increased risk.

"The vaccines are one component of that protection, so you will see a certain percentage with their boosters who will still have problems, and that's why the more people we can get protected, the better," she says.

HOSPITALIZATIONS

According to the province’s online dashboard, a total of 162 people were hospitalized as of Tuesday -- an increase of 10 people since Monday.

Of those in hospital, 67 were admitted due to COVID-19, while 95 were admitted for other reasons, but tested positive for the virus.

Seventeen people are currently in intensive care and seven are on a ventilator.

NEW CASES

There were 228 new PCR-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported Tuesday in New Brunswick.

In addition, officials are also reporting 603 new cases using rapid tests.

The breakdown of the new PCR-confirmed cases by health zone is as follows:

• Zone 1 – the Moncton region - 74 new cases
• Zone 2 – the Saint John region - 56 new cases
• Zone 3 – the Fredericton region - 41 new cases
• Zone 4 – the Edmundston region - 23 new cases
• Zone 5 – the Campbellton region - seven new cases
• Zone 6 – the Bathurst region - 15 new cases
• Zone 7 – the Miramichi region - 12 new cases

According to the online dashboard, there are currently 4,408 active cases of the virus in New Brunswick.

HEALTH-CARE WORKERS IN ISOLATION

As of Tuesday, there were a total of 385 health-care workers who had tested positive for COVID-19 and were isolating.

Here is a breakdown of the health-care workers isolating as of Tuesday:

• Vitalité Health Network - 150

• Horizon Health Network - 147

• Ambulance New Brunswick - 88

VACCINATION UPDATE

As of Tuesday, 92.1 per cent of New Brunswickers have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, 84.5 per cent are fully vaccinated with two doses of vaccine, and 44.3 per cent have now received a booster dose.

In total, 1,659,028 doses of the vaccine have been administered in New Brunswick.

The New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association says it is seeing a slowdown in demand for the vaccine, and that only about 3,000 appointments were filled Monday.

"We know that the capacity for the province across all the clinics is somewhere over, 10,000 appointments a day are possible at peak, so we're really not reaching the demand for the capacity that we have," says Jake Reid, executive director of the New Brunswick Pharmacists' Association.

About 44 per cent of the population aged five and older have received a booster dose.