Six New Hospital Admissions, One Discharge, Three Deaths

NOTE: The last daily COVID-19 news release and data dashboard update will be on Friday, March 4, as Nova Scotia moves to weekly reporting. The next COVID-19 release and dashboard update will be on Thursday, March 10.

Today, March 3, Nova Scotia is reporting six new hospital admissions and one discharge.

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

• two men in their 70s in Eastern Zone
• a man in his 80s in Central Zone.

“I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of the three Nova Scotians who died from this virus,” said Premier Tim Houston. “As we lift restrictions and continue to reopen, we must not forget that this virus is still circulating in our communities. That is why it is so important Nova Scotians follow both the letter and the spirit of the public health measures to protect ourselves and others from this virus.”

There are 46 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 62, and the median length of stay of people admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is 6.5 days.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the three men who have passed away,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. “COVID-19 is still in our province, and it continues to be very important for all Nova Scotians to follow the public health measures and advice as we start to move toward living with COVID.”

Of the 46 people in hospital, 44 were admitted during the Omicron wave.

The vaccination status of those in hospital is:

• 14 (30.4 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
• 21 (45.7 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
• 1 (2.2 per cent) is partially vaccinated
• 10 (21.7 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:

• 122 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
• 161 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.

Vaccine Coverage:

As of March 2, 2,216,365 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, 62.6 per cent of Nova Scotians 18 and older have received a booster dose, and 0.3 per cent have booked a booster dose appointment.

Cases and Testing:

On March 2, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 2,007 tests. An additional 421 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.

There are 143 cases in Central Zone, 88 cases in Eastern Zone, 105 cases in Northern Zone and 85 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 2,514 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.

Hospital Outbreaks:

NSHA is reporting a new outbreak in a ward at Glace Bay Hospital. Fewer than five patients have tested positive.

NSHA is also reporting two additional cases related to the outbreak at Harbour View Hospital in Sydney Mines. Fewer than five 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 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)