Nova Scotia reports 3 COVID-19 deaths Wednesday

Nova Scotia reported three deaths and 66 people in designated COVID-19 hospital units on Wednesday, including nine in ICU.

The three deaths include a woman in her 50s in the eastern zone, a woman in her 60s in the western zone and a man in his 70s in the eastern zone. The province said the deaths occurred between Feb. 6 and Feb. 12.

Since the Omicron wave began on Dec. 8, 74 Nova Scotians have died because of COVID-19.

Unvaccinated Nova Scotians are about five times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 than someone with two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. That is based on average hospitalizations since the province started releasing daily hospitalization numbers by vaccine status on Jan. 4.

Unvaccinated people are also about six times as likely to die of COVID-19 during the Omicron wave than someone who had received a booster dose, based on numbers provided by the province and last updated on Feb. 11.

The vaccination status of the 66 people being treated in COVID-19 designated hospital units is:

• 19 (28.8 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
• 24 (36.4 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses).
• One (1.5 per cent) is partially vaccinated.
• 22 (33.3 per cent) are unvaccinated.

The age range for people in hospital is 0 to 93 years old, and the median age is 62. 

The province said Wednesday that 85.8 per cent of Nova Scotia's population has received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 91.6 per cent have had one dose.

There are two other groups of people in hospital related to COVID-19:

• 131 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.
• 164 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.

Grant for eligible post-secondary students

The province said Wednesday about 11,000 students qualify for a new, one-time COVID-19 grant of $875 to help pay bills. 

An eligible student must be both a resident of Nova Scotia and receive Nova Scotia Student Assistance. Those attending university, Nova Scotia Community College or a private career college are eligible.

The province has committed $9.8 million for the grants, which do not have to be paid back. Students who qualify will automatically have the money deposited into their bank accounts in March. 

Nova Scotia Health labs completed 1,734 tests on Tuesday and found 223 new cases of the coronavirus. There were 62 cases in central zone, 70 cases in eastern zone, 36 cases in northern zone and 55 cases in western zone.

As of Wednesday, there were an estimated 2,572 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.