N.B. reports three more deaths related to COVID-19, 138 in hospital Tuesday

Health officials in New Brunswick are reporting three new deaths related to COVID-19 on Tuesday.

Public health says the deaths involve a person in their 80s and a person aged 90 and over, both in the Bathurst region (Zone 6), and a person in their 70s in the Miramichi region (Zone 7).

According to the province's COVID-19 online dashboard, there have been 215 deaths related to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic.

VACCINE UPDATE

More New Brunswickers are rolling up their sleeves for a COVID-19 booster dose, with over 101,000 booster shots administered over a two-week period, according to public health.

“I want to thank every New Brunswicker who has rolled up their sleeve for a booster shot, as well as the nurses, pharmacists and other health professionals who are administering doses in regional health authority clinics and pharmacies across the province,” said Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health.

As of Tuesday, health officials say 39.4 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received their booster dose.

Russell strongly recommends that those who are eligible book an appointment for a booster dose.

“Being fully protected through vaccine is our most effective way to protect the health system," she said

According to the province's online dashboard, as of Tuesday, 1,607,499 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered.

Of those, 688,436 were first doses, 628,899 were second doses, and 290,164 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 Tuesday, public health says there are 138 people in hospital due to COVID-19, 11 of whom are in intensive care.

Of those in hospital:

• 82 were hospitalized for reasons other than COVID-19
• 106 are aged 60 and over
• three people are on ventilators
• four people are aged 19 and under

“While hospitalizations continue to rise, they are trending below our original projections,” said Russell. “The data indicates that New Brunswickers have reduced their contacts by about 30 per cent. This has made a tremendous difference to our acute care system, which has been heavily impacted by employees who are absent due to Omicron and the increasing number of patients.”

Health officials say there are also 482 health-care workers who have tested positive and are isolating as of Tuesday.

CASE DATA

According to the province's online dashboard, an additional 350 new PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases have been identified on Tuesday. The dashboard also reports 337 new recoveries, bringing the total number of active infections to 5,359.