Province records 9 COVID-related deaths, changes the way it reports hospitalizations

New Brunswick has recorded nine more COVID-related deaths and has 78 people in hospital because of the virus, according to COVIDWATCH, the government's replacement for the COVID-19 dashboard, launched Tuesday.

The new weekly reports on the coronavirus website include data up to and including the previous Saturday.

Although the hospitalizations between March 27 and April 2 appear to have dropped from the 142 reported last Tuesday, people who are initially admitted to hospital for another reason and later test positive for COVID are no longer included.

Only those hospitalized for COVID are counted.

The combined total is actually 178 — an increase of 36, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Jennifer Russell told CBC.

"Hopefully [people] won't misunderstand the information because I'm making sure that people understand there has been a change," she said.

This is to "align" with the reporting practices of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, Russell said.

The province is also "focusing on the disease activity," she said.

Threat of new subvariant looms

New Brunswick is now facing the threat of a new Omicron subvariant called Omicron XE, which is a combination of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2, said Russell. This type of combination is known as a "recombinant" variant.

It's 10 per cent more transmissible than BA2, which is 60 per cent more transmissible than BA1, she said, urging everyone who is eligible to get vaccinated.

Omicron XE was first detected in the United Kingdom on Jan.19 and has been confirmed in at least 600 cases since then, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

New Brunswick saw an increase in the number of hospital admissions for COVID-19 this week (78) compared to last week (47), a summary on the web page states.

The number of active hospitalizations is up by 12.

Nine people require intensive care.

The number of patients on ventilators and the number of hospital staff off work after testing positive for COVID-19 is no longer being reported by Public Health. But those numbers will be available from the regional health authorities, according to a government news release.

"These changes better reflect the usual surveillance and reporting of communicable diseases," it said.

"As the province continues to transition to living with COVID-19, ongoing reports will aim to communicate the risks of severe disease."

Critics have argued the government is asking New Brunswickers to manage their own risks for COVID-19 now that all Public Health measures have been lifted, but at the same time, it's providing less data about the virus to help them gauge that risk.

"If we get public feedback that we need to add [more data to COVID Watch], that's certainly, you know, we'll consider that," Health Minister Dorothy Shephard told reporters last week. "But we are not, we're not, you know, giving way to hiding information."

There are 8,670 new cases of COVID. That includes 3,888 people who tested positive through PCR lab tests and 4,782 people who self-reported testing positive on rapid tests.

There are now 6,134 active cases across the province, an increase of 1,181.

A total of 51.4 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received their COVID-19 booster dose, up from 51.2 per cent a week ago, 87.7 per cent have received two doses, up from 87.6 per cent, and 93 per cent have received their first dose, unchanged.

Deaths include two people in their 50s

The number of new deaths decreased from 13 last week.

Unlike the dashboard, which provided the age range and health zone of new deaths, no information about the nine people who died is provided on COVIDWATCH. Only an age breakdown of the 358 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic is provided.

However, by comparing Tuesday's report to last week's dashboard, the latest deaths include two people in their 50s, three in their 60s, two in their 80s and two in their 90s.

Two children under 10 are among those hospitalized, the web page shows. A person in their 20s is the youngest in ICU.

The highest portion of hospitalizations for COVID-19 is among people aged 60-79.

"Individuals that are unprotected by vaccine continue to have the highest rate of hospitalization for COVID-19 and death."

The province defines unprotected as fully vaccinated more than six months, partially vaccinated and unvaccinated.

People are considered protected if they are boosted or fully vaccinated less than six months.

The seven-day moving average of hospitalizations for COVID-19, including ICU admissions, jumped to 68 from roughly 55, according to a graph.

The seven-day moving average of ICU admissions also increased slightly to about 10, the graph shows, although the actual number is not provided.

"The number of PCR confirmed cases and hospitalizations has continued to increase over the past two weeks," the web page states.

The regional breakdown of the PCR-confirmed cases includes:

• Moncton region, Zone 1 — 1,319 new cases and 2,108 active cases
• Saint John region, Zone 2 — 730 new cases and 1,106 active cases
• Fredericton region, Zone 3 — 693 new cases and 1,116 active cases
• Edmundston region, Zone 4 — 228 new cases and 341 active cases
• Campbellton region, Zone 5 — 176 new cases and 266 active cases
• Bathurst region, Zone 6 — 474 new cases and 796 active cases
• Miramichi region, Zone 7 — 268 new cases and 401 active cases

New Brunswick has had 51,854 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic with 45,362 recoveries, now described as "resolved" cases, so far.

A total of 782,596 PCR tests have been conducted to date, including 11,417 since the last report.

Vaccination 'more important' than school mask mandate

Russell says her focus is on getting more people vaccinated, not on bringing back a mask mandate for schools.

Mask requirements in schools were removed last month along with all other provincial COVID-19 restrictions.

Nineteen New Brunswick pediatricians have written an open letter to the government calling for the reinstatement of universal masking in schools and for preschool staff.

In their letter sent to Premier Blaine Higgs, Education Minister Dominic Cardy, Health Minister Dorothy Shephard and Russell, the doctors said COVID-19 is an airborne virus, and masking and vaccination are proven protections against transmission and severity of infection.

In a statement Monday, the New Brunswick Medical Society also said it "encourages" the reinstatement of mask mandates in schools and child-care settings.

President Dr. Mark MacMillan cited COVID-19 being "still very much present in the province," low vaccination rates among children five to 11 and those under five still not being eligible.

It's a "simple measure that can help ensure children are able to remain healthy and attend classes," he said. It can also help slow the spread of the virus to vulnerable populations, as well as health-care and education professionals who are parents, he added.

Russell did not directly answer questions Tuesday about whether she's considering that.

"I respect and value their opinions," and take them "very seriously," she said.

And while she fully supports masking, she "can't say that we need a mandate at this time to make sure that people exercise that choice of masking."

Right now, it's "more important to get vaccinated than it is to wear a mask," Russell said. "But wearing a mask is part of the complement of tools that we can use right now to protect ourselves.

"And when people look at the impact to the health-care system and the impacts on the health-care workers that are being affected by COVID, vaccination numbers need to go up to improve that protection."

Only 40 per cent of children aged five to 11 are fully vaccinated, Russell noted. "Those numbers aren't high enough to decrease transmission in the schools," she said.

P.E.I. and Quebec extend mask mandates

Prince Edward Island and Quebec both announced Tuesday they will keep their mask mandates in place until at least the end of the month.

P.E.I. mask mandates were set to drop on Thursday after the state of emergency expires. Premier Dennis King said some restrictions will end but the province is not ready to drop mask mandates as a way of preventing the spread of COVID-19. They will remain in place until at least April 28, he said.

Even after that date, they will likely still be required in high-risk settings such as health-care facilities and on public transit.

Meanwhile Quebec's interim public health director Dr. Luc Boileau said that province is extending its mask mandate in indoor public spaces until at least April 30.

The surge in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations amid the province's sixth wave prompted him to recommend maintaining the measure, just 10 days before it was expected to be dropped, he said.

Nova Scotia lifted its mask mandates for most indoor public places, along with most other COVID restrictions on March 21. But in a last-minute change, Premier Tim Houston announced the province would keep masking in schools until the middle of April.

Masks are also still required in hospitals and other health-care settings, long-term care homes and adult residential centres, courts and provincial jails.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, masking is still required in schools until at least the Easter break, in post-secondary institutions until the end of the semester and in health-care facilities provincewide.