N.S. reports 5 COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, 92 people in designated hospital units

Nova Scotia is reporting five deaths and 92 people in designated COVID-19 hospital units on Tuesday, including 15 in intensive care.

The COVID-19-related deaths include a woman in her 70s in the central zone, three men in their 80s in the central zone and a woman in her 80s in the eastern zone.

In total, there are 304 people in hospital with COVID-19:

• 92 hospitalized due to the virus.
• 92 identified as positive upon arrival, but were admitted for another medical reason, or were admitted for COVID-19 but no longer require specialized care.
• 120 who contracted COVID-19 while in hospital.

The average age of people in hospital is 68, the release said. Of the 92 people hospitalized for COVID-19, 89 were admitted during the Omicron wave.

Premier Tim Houston and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, are expected to provide an update on the COVID-19 situtation in the province Wednesday at 3 p.m. AT.

On Monday, Nova Scotia reported five people died due to COVID-19, one of the highest number of deaths on a single day since the start of the pandemic. There were six deaths reported on April 25, 2020, and another six deaths reported on May 3, 2020.

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

The vaccination status of those in hospital is:

• Seventeen (18.5 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
• Fifty-five (59.8 per cent) people are fully vaccinated (two doses)
• Three (3.3 per cent) are partially vaccinated
• Seventeen (18.5 per cent) are unvaccinated.

Less than 10 per cent of Nova Scotians are unvaccinated.

The province is also reporting 492 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 Tuesday.

Of these, 234 are in the central health zone, 116 in the western zone, 62 in the eastern zone and 80 in the northern zone. 

These cases were identified from 3,154 tests that were completed by Nova Scotia Health Authority labs Tuesday.

Service changes at IWK 

In an emailed statement on Tuesday, the IWK Health Centre in Halifax said staffing shortages may reduce some services.

The statement did not say how many staff are off, but said there have been about 100 staff out at any given time over the last few weeks who were either isolating with COVID-19 symptoms or awaiting test results because they were a close contact of someone who tested positive. It said patients may see "slight reductions for gynecology and breast health surgeries" as well as some outpatient services. 

"Staffing an ongoing challenge therefore additional reductions may be required," read the statement. "Some services moved to virtual care as appropriate."

King's-Edgehill School moves online for rest of week

On Tuesday, Grades 10-12 at King's-Edgehill School in Windsor, N.S., moved to online learning for the rest of the week.

The school's headmaster, Joseph Seagram, said officials made the decision following seven positive COVID-19 cases reported to the school nurse on Sunday. Given the level of concern among the school population, and the fact classes only run until Thursday this week before a long weekend midterm break, Seagram said the move made sense.

"Our students here are so busy and so active, they've all got lots of contacts," he said in an interview.

"We were just looking at the numbers and people were uncomfortable, making a voluntary decision to stay home, and it was like, 'Look, if that's how people feel then let's just listen to that and do the quick switch for three days.'"

Atlantic Canada case numbers

• Prince Edward Island reported one death and ten people in hospital on Tuesday, with two in ICU. There were 275 new cases, with 2,394 active cases.
• New Brunswick reported three more deaths and 138 hospitalizations Tuesday, including 11 ICU cases. There are currently 482 health-care workers who have tested positive for the virus and are isolating.
• Newfoundland and Labrador reported 20 people in hospital due to COVID-19 on Tuesday with five in ICU. There are 296 new cases and 2,688 active cases.