Four New Hospital Admissions, Two Discharges, Four Deaths

Today, March 2, Nova Scotia is reporting four new hospital admissions and two discharges.

Nova Scotia is also reporting four deaths related to COVID-19:

• a woman in her 50s in Central Zone
• a man in his 80s in Western Zone
• a man in his 90s in Central Zone
• a man in his 90s in Eastern Zone.

“I’m sending condolences to the families and loved ones of the four people who passed away,” said Premier Tim Houston. “It is sad to be entering a new month, the beginning of spring, and we’re still seeing deaths from this virus. Please get vaccinated and get boosted, if not for yourself, then for your loved ones so we don’t see any more deaths in our province.”

There are 45 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 and are receiving specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit. That includes 12 people in ICU. The age range of those in hospital is five to 92 years old. The median age is 61, and the median length of stay of people admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is 6.6 days.

“My deepest sympathies go out to the four families who have just experienced the loss of a loved one to COVID-19,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. “Please remember that this virus can be deadly and protect yourselves and your loved ones by getting all your vaccines, continuing to wear your face masks and following public health advice to prevent the spread.”

Of the 45 people in hospital, 43 were admitted during the Omicron wave.

The vaccination status of those in hospital is:

• 12 (26.7 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
• 20 (44.4 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
• 2 (4.4 per cent) are partially vaccinated
• 11 (24.4 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:

• 123 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
• 166 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.

Vaccine Coverage:

As of March 1, 2,214,839 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 92.1 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their first dose, and 86.8 per cent have received their second dose.

As well, 62.5 per cent of Nova Scotians 18 and older have received a booster dose, and 0.4 per cent have booked a booster dose appointment.

Cases and Testing:

On March 1, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 2,025 tests. An additional 362 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.

There are 144 cases in Central Zone, 80 cases in Eastern Zone, 63 cases in Northern Zone and 75 cases in Western Zone.

There will be an increase in new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported because of a change in testing protocol announced last week. People with positive rapid test results are now able to get a confirmatory PCR lab test.

As of today, there are an estimated 2,247 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.

Hospital Outbreaks:

NSHA is reporting a new outbreak in a ward at Harbourview Hospital in Sydney Mines. Fewer than five patients have tested positive.

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

• one additional patient in a ward at Hants Community Hospital in Windsor; 10 patients have now tested positive
• one additional patient in a ward at Digby General Hospital; 16 patients have now tested positive.

Quick Facts:

• a state of emergency was declared under the Emergency Management Act on March 22, 2020, and has been extended to March 6, 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 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)