N.B. reports six new COVID-19 related deaths Wednesday, 137 in hospital
Health officials in New Brunswick reported six new deaths related to COVID-19 on Wednesday.
Public health says the deaths involve:
- a person in their 80s in Zone 1 (Moncton region)
- a person in their 80s in Zone 3 (Fredericton region)
- a person in their 80s in Zone 6 (Bathurst region)
- a person 90 and over in Zone 6 (Bathurst region)
- a person in their 40s Zone 7 (Miramichi region)
- a person in their 80s in Zone 7 (Miramichi region)
According to the province's COVID-19 online dashboard, there have been 221 deaths related to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.
VACCINE UPDATE
More than 40 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers, or 303,000 people, have received their COVID-19 booster dose.
“I am pleased to see so many people take this important step to better protect themselves against the Omicron variant,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health. “I hope to see that number continue to rise in the weeks ahead.”
According to the province's online dashboard, as of Wednesday, 1,622,614 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.
Of those, 689,611 were first doses, 630,004 were second doses, and 302,999 were booster doses.
The province says booster doses are available to everyone 18 and over, as long as five months have passed since their second dose.
Appointments can be booked online at vaccination clinics offered through the Vitalité and Horizon health networks, or by phone at 1-833-437-1424.
HOSPITALIZATIONS
As of Wednesday, public health says there are 137 people in hospital due to COVID-19, eight of whom are in intensive care.
Of those in hospital:
- 80 were hospitalized for reasons other than COVID-19
- 107 are aged 60 and over
- One person is on a ventilator
- four people are aged 19 and under
Health officials say there are also 489 health-care workers who have tested positive and are isolating as of Wednesday.
CASE DATA
According to the province's online dashboard, an additional 520 new PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases have been identified on Wednesday.
The dashboard also reports 557 new recoveries, bringing the total number of active infections to 5,316.
ON TRACK TO RETURN TO LEVEL TWO
During a news conference Wednesday, Health Minister Dorothy Shepard said the "modelling looks good" for a return to Level 2 of the province’s COVID-19 winter plan Sunday at midnight.
She also acknowledged January’s high death rate. Since the beginning of the month, 60 people have died as a result of the virus. Most of those people are over the age of 70.
“The majority of cases have passed in hospital,” she said. “So there’s various reasons that we can just anecdotally point to. The fact that our population is the oldest population in the country, the fact that we have a number of chronic illnesses in our population, so all of these things play a factor.”
Later Wednesday, the Department of Health sent CTV Atlantic a statement regarding the rate of deaths so far in 2022.
“The number of deaths as a result of COVID-19 or a complication from COVID-19 in New Brunswick is quite concerning, not to mention devastating for the loved ones of those impacted, and the province as a whole,” a spokesperson said. “In response, the province is aggressively advocating booster doses for all who are eligible, and first and second doses to our youth demographic, in order to prevent the spread from reaching those who are more susceptive to severe symptoms.”
So far, about 30,000 children between five and 11 have had their first dose.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.