Nova Scotia reports a total of 280 people in hospital with COVID-19 Friday; 13 in ICU

Nova Scotia health officials are reporting an additional 16 COVID-19 related hospital admissions on Friday, bringing the total number of people in hospital with the virus to 280.

In a release, public health says 94 of those in hospital were admitted due to COVID-19 and are receiving specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit.

Of the 94 in hospital:

• 13 are in intensive care
• the age range is zero to 100 years old
• the average age is 68
• the average length of stay of those admitted to hospital is 6.9 days
• 89 were admitted during the Omicron wave

The vaccination status of the 94 people who were admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is as follows:

• 11 (11.7 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
• 60 (63.8 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
• four (4.3 per cent) are partially vaccinated
• 19 (20.2 per cent) are unvaccinated

Public health says there are also an additional:

• 73 people who were identified as positive upon arrival at hospital but were admitted for another medical reason, or were admitted for COVID-19 but no longer require specialized care
• 113 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital

Since Thursday, there have been three people discharged from hospital in Nova Scotia.

"It is important to note that less than 10 per cent of Nova Scotians are unvaccinated," reads a release from public health on Friday.

Public health says due to technical issues, vaccine data will not be made available on Friday. Vaccine numbers will be updated on Monday.

CASES AND TESTING

On Thursday, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 3,975 tests. An additional 601 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.

There are an estimated 5,241 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia and the numbers by zone are as follows:

• 269 cases in the Central zone
• 120 cases in the Eastern zone
• 49 cases in the Northern zone
• 163 cases in the Western zone

The province did not provide the number of recoveries on Friday.

HOSPITAL OUTBREAKS

The NSHA is reporting additional cases related to outbreaks at two hospitals.

Those cases include:

• one additional patient in a ward at Cape Breton Regional Hospital, where fewer than 10 patients have tested positive
• one additional patient in a ward at the Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre, where fewer than 10 patients have tested positive

STATE OF EMERGENCY RENEWED

Nova Scotia's state of emergency, which was originally declared on March 22, 2020, has been extended until at least Feb. 6.

COVID ALERT APP

Canada’s COVID Alert app is available in Nova Scotia.

The app, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or Google Play, notifies users if they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

LIST OF SYMPTOMS

Anyone who experiences a new or worsening cough, or who has two or more of the following symptoms, needs to self-isolate and take an online COVID-19 self-assessment test, or call 811, to determine if they need to be tested for COVID-19:

• fever (chills, sweats)
• sore throat
• headache
• shortness of breath
• runny nose/nasal congestion