NL

2 more COVID-19 deaths as N.L. ends deadliest month of the pandemic

The province has had 40 deaths since the pandemic hit, with more than half coming in the past month alone.

Province has had 40 deaths total — with more than half coming in the past month alone

COVID-19 Drive-thru Testing Clinic sign
Newfoundland and Labrador reported two more deaths Monday, rounding out the province's deadliest month under the pandemic. (Paul Daly/CBC)

Newfoundland and Labrador reported two more deaths from COVID-19 on Monday, raising the province's toll to 40 since the pandemic began — more than half of them in the past month alone.

Both people were over the age of 70: a man in the Eastern Health region and a woman in the Central Health region. The deaths are the 20th and 21st in January.

The province also reported 183 new cases of COVID-19. Twenty-two people are in hospital due to COVID-19 — down one from Sunday's record high of 23 — with nine people in critical care.

A total of 900 COVID-19 tests have been completed since Sunday, for a positivity rate of 20.3 per cent. The province has completed 481,461 tests since March 2020.

With 222 new recoveries, the province's known active caseload drops to 2,121.

The Department of Health also announced the province will stay in a modified version of Alert Level 4 for another week but said changes will come into effect next Monday, with details to be announced at a briefing on Thursday.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador