N.B. reports one additional death related to COVID-19, 88 in hospital as of Tuesday

Health officials in New Brunswick reported another death related to COVID-19, involving a person aged 90 and over in the Moncton region (Zone 1).

According to the province's COVID-19 online dashboard, there have been 173 deaths due to the virus.

Public health says, as of Tuesday, there are 88 people in hospital due to COVID-19 in New Brunswick, a new high for the province.

Of those in hospital:

• 14 people are in intensive care
• 67 are over the age of 60
• 11 are on a ventilator
• 76 per cent are either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or it has been six months since their second dose
• No one aged 19 and under is in hospital

Thirty-five of the 88 people hospitalized were admitted for reasons other than COVID-19 and tested positive once admitted.

Twenty-four per cent have received their COVID-19 booster dose.

UPDATES FROM HEALTH NETWORKS

The CEOs of New Brunswick's health authorities said they are taking a provincial approach in responding to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

The Edmundston Regional Hospital and the Saint John Regional Hospital are closing units and reallocating staff to provide urgent and emergency services. If necessary, the CEOs said they would redeploy staff from nearby hospitals or others around the province.

As of Tuesday, Dr. France Desrosiers, president and CEO of Vitalité Health Network, says there are 42 patients hospitalized due to COVID-19 within the Vitalité Health Network, four of whom are in intensive care.

There are also 142 health-care workers within the Vitalité Health Network that are currently off work either because they tested positive for COVID-19 or were a close contact.

"Based on the experience we have since the beginning of the pandemic, mainly in the Campbellton and Edmundston regions, we have continuously tested and improved our pandemic plan," said Desrosiers.

According to Desrosiers, the current vaccination dose offers protection and continues to reduce hospitalizations by up to 88 per cent.

Dr. John Dornan, president and CEO for the Horizon Health Network, says New Brunswick is at the beginning of a high tidal wave when it comes to COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.

"It's creeping up now, but in the next two to three weeks, it's going to crash over us like no one's business," said Dornan.

With increase in COVID-19 cases, Dornan says it is expected to also see higher numbers of individuals requiring care in hospitals.

"Under normal circumstances, we might be able to deal with that to an extent," he said.

Dornan says Horizon, Vitalité and Extra-Mural/Ambulance New Brunswick are working together to ensure critical life-saving services are available for New Brunswickers when needed.

“New Brunswickers can be assured that, if required, we will move swiftly to preserve our limited health-care resources and provide the necessary care,” Dornan said.  

Dornan says on a normal day, the Horizon Health Network has 250 employees who are off work, either because of vacation, illness or long-term disability.

"Today, we had 164 people not able to turn up because they had COVID or COVID associations or connections," said Dornan. "We can't work with that reduced staffing environment."

There has been outbreaks declared in six units at the Saint John Regional Hospital, which has resulted in many health-care staff being off work. Other parts of the Horizon Health Network, in Fredericton, Miramichi and Moncton, are also facing critical situations.

“Each day Horizon evaluates where we are in terms of staffing numbers, and what services we can safely deliver, and we prepare to make difficult decisions as required, which may result in Horizon focusing on life-saving care only,” said Dornan.

Public health says here are currently 377 health-care workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 and are isolating.

BOOSTER DOSE APPOINTMENTS

Since Monday, public health says 17,000 appointments have been booked for COVID-19 booster doses.

Anyone aged 18 and over is eligible for a booster dose in New Brunswick, as long as five months have passed since their second dose.

842 NEW CASES

Public health reported 842 new positive rapid (point-of-care) test results on Tuesday.

"These totals are based on information received by the Department of Health from the public and are not intended to be taken as a true representation of the total number of cases in the province," reads a release from the province.

People with COVID-19 symptoms are required to register online for a PCR test or rapid test under the provincial government’s testing strategy. Those who receive a positive rapid-test result are reminded to submit their result online through the self-reporting web portal.

“While we are encouraging everyone to register their positive rapid-test result, we recognize that not everyone will do so,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health. “We need to keep in mind that this data is self-reported and will only give us an idea of the actual number of positive cases.”