N.S. reports 8 new deaths related to COVID-19, cases continue to increase

Nova Scotia is reporting eight new COVID-19 related deaths on Thursday.

The province's weekly COVID-19 update shows a continued increase in lab-confirmed cases, as well as hospitalizations.

In a news release Thursday, Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health said the risk of severe illness remains low during the current Omicron wave.

"COVID-19 is circulating in all communities across the province,” said Strang. “But given Nova Scotia has a highly vaccinated population, the number of hospitalizations and deaths as a proportion of total positive tests remains low."

To date, the province has announced 263 deaths related to COVID-19, 151 of those have been during the Omicron wave.

However, in a news conference Thursday, Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Shelley Deeks, said deaths have trended down from earlier this year, and overall, the case rate versus fatality rate for the proportion of people with COVID-19 who die is substantially lower.

“Both in terms of the population as a whole and in long-term care, compared to previous waves, again, because of the impact of vaccine,” said Deeks.

Since the start of the Omicron wave, which began on Dec. 8, 2021, the median age of reported COVID-19 deaths is 79. Of those who died, 27.2 per cent had one dose of vaccine or were unvaccinated.

“The risk of hospitalization with Omicron is 84 per cent lower for people with three doses of vaccine compared to people who are either unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated,” said Deeks.

“The risk of dying is even further reduced. It’s 92 per cent lower with three doses of vaccine compare to populations who are not fully vaccinated or unvaccinated.”

Thursday’s news conference focused largely on how the province plans to live with COVID-19, with Strang noting the time has passed for the use of restrictions.

“We are now at the point where we can no longer justify the use of restrictive measures and mandates,” said Strang. “My MOH colleagues across the country agree that widespread restrictions are no longer necessary in the management of this pandemic.”

“They impact mental health, people’s jobs and the economy and their social connections. And those harms tend to have a disproportional impact on marginalized and disadvantaged populations.”

Strang said he feels the province is in a position to manage the pandemic without restrictions through high vaccination rates, institutional knowledge of how the virus is spread, and the use of early treatment options.

“We’ve been dealing with COVID now for more than two years and I’m confident that Nova Scotians know not only what to do to keep themselves and others safe, but why these actions are important.”

HOSPITALIZATIONS

Nova Scotia is reporting another increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19.

Between March 30 and April 5, Nova Scotia saw 61 new hospital admissions due to the virus and 16 discharges.

As of Wednesday, there were 57 people in hospital due to COVID-19, nine of whom were in intensive care.

Last week, the province had reported 51 people in hospital and 11 people in intensive care in its weekly report.

Of those in hospital:

• 16 per cent are unvaccinated or have one dose of vaccine
• the median age is 72

NEW CASES

There were 6,991 new COVID-19 cases identified with PCR tests between March 30 and April 5, 2,803 more cases than were announced in the province’s previous weekly report.

VACCINES

As of Wednesday, 63.9 per cent of Nova Scotians had three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, 87.5 per cent of Nova Scotians had two or more doses, 4.9 per cent had one dose, and 7.6 per cent were not vaccinated.