Six COVID-19-related deaths and seven new hospitalizations reported Tuesday

11 people are in ICU

CityNews Halifax Staff

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NEWS RELEASE
COVID-19/HEALTH/WELLNESS
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Today, February 15, Nova Scotia is reporting seven new hospital admissions and three discharges.

Nova Scotia is also reporting six deaths related to COVID-19:
— a woman in her 60s in Central Zone
— a woman in her 70s in Central Zone
— a woman in her 70s in Western Zone
— a woman in her 80s in Western Zone
— a man in his 80s in Northern Zone
— a man in his 90s in Northern Zone.

“My heart goes out to the families and friends of the six Nova Scotians who died,” said Premier Tim Houston. “To all Nova Scotians, we know what we have to do to protect ourselves and others. Please do your part and get vaccinated to help prevent another loss.”

There are 74 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 and are receiving specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit. That includes 11 people in ICU. The age range of those in hospital is 0 to 93 years old. The median age is 66, and the median length of stay of people admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is 6.1days.

Of the 74 people in hospital, 71 were admitted during the Omicron wave.

“I offer my sympathies to the six families and friends 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 more life. To everyone, use this as a sad reminder to get vaccinated and wear a mask to help keep omicron from spreading.”

The vaccination status of those in hospital is:
— 20 (27.0 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
— 26 (35.1 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
— 1 (1.4 per cent) is partially vaccinated
— 27 (36.5 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:
— 125 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
— 162 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.

Vaccine Coverage:

As of February 14, 2,184,338 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 91.6 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their first dose, and 85.7 per cent have received their second dose.

As well, 60.2 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 14, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 1,872 tests. An additional 226 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.

There are 123 cases in Central Zone, 19 cases in Eastern Zone, 28 cases in Northern Zone and 56 cases in Western Zone.

As of today, there are an estimated 2,615 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.

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)