15 New Hospital Admissions, 16 Discharges, One Death

Today, January 11, Nova Scotia is reporting 15 new hospital admissions and 16 discharges.

Nova Scotia is also reporting one death related to COVID-19. A man in his 80s in Central Zone has died.

“I am so saddened to hear about another death to this virus,” said Premier Tim Houston. “My deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones. To all Nova Scotians, we know what we have to do to protect ourselves and others. So please, do your part to prevent another loss.”

There are 58 people in hospital with four in ICU. Their ages range from 39 to 100 years old, and the average age is 67. Of the 58 in hospital, 56 were admitted during the Omicron wave.

“My sincerest condolences to the family grieving the loss of their loved one today,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. “It is tragic to see the virus take another life, especially when we know we can prevent this from happening. To everyone, please use this as a reminder to get vaccinated, wear a mask and reduce your social interactions to keep Omicron from spreading.”

The vaccination status of those in hospital is:

• 6 (10.3 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
• 34 (58.6 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
• 3 (5.2 per cent) are partially vaccinated
• 15 (25.9 per cent) are unvaccinated.

It is important to note that less than 10 per cent of Nova Scotians are unvaccinated.

Vaccine Coverage:

As of January 10, 1,870,346 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 90.2 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their first dose, 82.9 per cent have received their second dose, and 21.3 per cent have received a third dose.

Cases and Testing:

On January 10, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 3,807 tests. An additional 616 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.

There are 332 cases in Central Zone, 103 cases in Eastern Zone, 69 cases in Northern Zone and 112 cases in Western Zone.

As of today, there are an estimated 6,796 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.

Hospital Outbreaks:

The NSHA is reporting a new outbreak in a ward at the Northside General Hospital in North Sydney. Fewer than five patients have tested positive.

NSHA is also reporting additional cases related to the outbreaks in five hospitals:

• three additional patients in a ward at the Abbie J. Lane Memorial Building of the QEII Health Sciences Centre; fewer than 10 patients have tested positive
• two additional patients in a separate ward at Northside General Hospital; a total of 10 patients have now tested positive
• one additional patient in a separate ward at Northside General Hospital; fewer than five patients have tested positive
• one additional patient in a ward at the Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre; fewer than 10 patients have tested positive
• one additional patient in a ward at New Waterford Consolidated Hospital; a total of 14 patients have now tested positive.

All patients are being closely monitored and other infection prevention and control measures are being put in place. NSHA will provide a further update when more information is available.

Quick Facts:

• a state of emergency was declared under the Emergency Management Act on March 22, 2020, and has been extended to January 23, 2022

Additional Resources:

Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information, handwashing posters and fact sheets at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus

Information on provincewide restrictions that took effect December 22 and other public health measures to help slow the spread of COVID-19 is available at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/restrictions-and-guidance/

More information on COVID-19 case data, testing and vaccines is available at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/data/

More information about public health text notifications of positive COVID-19 cases and close contacts is available here: https://www.nshealth.ca/news/public-health-notifying-positive-covid-19-cases-text-advising-notify-close-contacts

Government of Canada: https://canada.ca/coronavirus or 1-833-784-4397 (toll-free)