Four New Hospital Admissions, Nine Discharges, Three Deaths

Today, February 16, Nova Scotia is reporting four new hospital admissions and nine discharges.

Nova Scotia is also reporting three additional deaths related to COVID-19 that occurred between February 6 and 12:

• a woman in her 50s in Eastern Zone
• a woman in her 60s in Western Zone
• a man in his 70s in Eastern Zone.

Data on deaths comes from Panorama, public health’s disease information system. It is entered into the system only after the death is identified to be COVID-related, which can take days or weeks to investigate and report. This is why these three deaths were not reported previously. Data on deaths is reflective of virus activity in the past, at the point of infection, and not the situation today, at the point of reporting.

“My heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the people who lost their lives to COVID-19,” said Premier Tim Houston. “It is a painful reminder of the devastating impact this disease continues to have on individuals, families and communities.”

There are 66 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 and are receiving specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit. That includes nine people in ICU. The age range of those in hospital is 0 to 93 years old. The median age is 62, and the median length of stay of people admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is 6.2 days.

Of the 66 people in hospital, 63 were admitted during the Omicron wave.

“Today, three more families are grieving an unimaginable loss,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. “From the start of this pandemic, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected the most vulnerable people in our communities – and that has not changed. That’s why it’s still so important to take care of one another. And the best way to do that is to get vaccinated, stay home if you’re sick, and follow the public health guidance in place to keep everyone safe.”

The vaccination status of those in hospital is:

• 19 (28.8 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
• 24 (36.4 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
• 1 (1.5 per cent) is partially vaccinated
• 22 (33.3 per cent) are unvaccinated.

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

There are also two other groups of people in hospital related to COVID-19:

• 131 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
• 164 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.

Vaccine Coverage:

As of February 15, 2,188,378 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 91.6 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their first dose, and 85.8 per cent have received their second dose.

As well, 60.3 per cent of Nova Scotians 18 and older have received a booster dose, and 1.8 per cent have booked a booster dose appointment.

Cases and Testing:

On February 15, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 1,734 tests. An additional 223 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.

There are 62 cases in Central Zone, 70 cases in Eastern Zone, 36 cases in Northern Zone and 55 cases in Western Zone.

As of today, there are an estimated 2,572 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.

Hospital Outbreaks:

NSHA is reporting new outbreaks in a ward at Dartmouth General Hospital and Digby General Hospital. Fewer than five patients at each facility have tested positive.

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

• two additional patients in a ward at Cape Breton Regional Hospital; fewer than 10 patients have tested positive
• one additional patient in a separate ward at Cape Breton Regional Hospital; fewer than 10 patients have tested positive
• one additional patient in a ward at Cumberland Regional Health Care Centre in Amherst; a total of 10 patients have tested positive
• one additional patient in a ward at the Halifax Infirmary site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre; fewer than 10 patients have tested positive.

Quick Facts:

• a state of emergency was declared under the Emergency Management Act on March 22, 2020, and has been extended to February 20, 2022

Additional Resources:

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

Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information on the Province’s response to COVID-19 at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus

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

Information on Nova Scotia’s three-phase reopening plan, which started Monday, February 14, is available at: https://novascotia.ca/reopening-plan/

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)