N.B. COVID-19 numbers jump, 16 new deaths reported in weekly update
CBC News | Posted: March 22, 2022 1:32 PM | Last Updated: March 22, 2022
Dr. Jennifer Russell says 'bump' was expected with lifting of restrictions
New Brunswick has recorded 16 new COVID-related deaths and a rise in hospitalizations over seven days, numbers released on the province's COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday show.
Asked about the spike in numbers, the province's chief medical officer of health said it's part of the "bump" she and her team expected when they made the recommendation to end all restrictions as of March 14.
"We had lifted the mandatory order right around the same time that March break was happening," Dr. Jennifer Russell told CBC News on Tuesday morning.
"And so we knew that between that combination of people travelling, the mandatory order being lifted, our modelling did show that we would see a bump in cases and hospitalizations."
The 16 new deaths and the 30 new hospital admissions, for a current total of 129 hospitalizations, occurred in the days between March 13 and 19.
The numbers were posted to the provincial COVID-19 dashboard on Tuesday morning, in keeping with the shift to providing once-weekly COVID-19 updates as part of the lifting of all restrictions.
The new deaths bring the province's total to 336 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Bump in hospitalizations contradicts modelling
The number of people currently in hospital is the highest it's been since the second week of February, when the province was transitioning from Level 2 to Level 1 of its COVID-19 winter plan.
It's also higher than what the province said it was expecting to see by mid-March.
According to a graph the Department of Health provided in February and continues to share as its most up-to-date modelling, hospitalizations were expected to be down to about 50 by now.
On Tuesday, Russell seemed to have disregarded that graph.
"We knew that the case numbers [in hospitals] were going to be around 100. So ... we did expect a bump," she said.
"You can't make all those changes and not expect there to be some effect on the population in terms of case numbers and hospitalizations.
"But the the thing that we're keeping in mind and we want the public to keep in mind is that, number one, in terms of vulnerable settings like hospitals, they are still in the red phase in terms of protecting patients and staff ... And long term care facilities also still have measures in place."
16 people in intensive care
Of the 129 people in hospital with COVID-19, 58 tested positive after being admitted for another reason, while 71 were admitted because of COVID-19.
There are 16 people in intensive care, up by three since last week's update. Four of those patients were admitted for something other than COVID-19, while 12 were admitted because of COVID-19, according to the dashboard.
A total of five people are on ventilator, which is down from seven the week before.
Overall hospital capacity is at 91 per cent, while the occupancy rate of intensive care units stands at 62 per cent.
A total of 490 health-care workers are isolating after testing positive for COVID-19, with 241 of those being staff with Horizon Health Network, 186 with Vitalité Health Network and 63 with either Extra-Mural or Ambulance New Brunswick.
Breakdown of new deaths
The 16 COVID-related deaths announced Tuesday occurred in six of the province's seven zones, including five in Zone 1, the Moncton region, four were in Zone 2, Saint John region, one in Zone 3, Fredericton region, one in Zone 5, Campbellton region, four in Zone 6, Bathurst region and one in Zone 7, Miramichi region.
Moncton region, Zone 1
- A person in their 60s, two people in their 70s, and two people in their 80s
Saint John region, Zone 2
- Two people in their 60s and two in their 70s
Fredericton region, Zone 3
- A person in their 80s
Campbellton region, Zone 5
- A person in their 80s
Bathurst region, Zone 6
- A person each in their 40s, 70s, 80s, and above 90
Miramichi region, Zone 7
- A person in their 40s
5,922 new cases
There were 2,781 new cases recorded through PCR testing, with 3,141 new cases recorded by people using at-home test kits from March 13 to 19.
The regional breakdown of the PCR-confirmed cases includes:
Moncton region, Zone 1
- 898 new cases and 1,474 active
Saint John region, Zone 2
- 599 new cases and 962 active
Fredericton region, Zone 3
- 502 new cases and 820 active cases
Edmundston region, Zone 4
- 165 new cases and 241 active cases
Campbellton region, Zone 5
- 129 new cases and 185 active cases
Bathurst region, Zone 6
- 311 new cases and 486 active cases
Miramichi region, Zone 7
- 177 new cases and 273 active cases
Nursing homes trying to balance protections and freedoms
Nursing homes in the province have set up a working group with the Department of Social Development to determine how best to protect residents, while at the same time letting them see loved ones, said Michael Keating, interim executive director of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes.
But with COVID-19 still spreading, achieving that balance continues to be a challenge, he said.
"If you let somebody in who's unvaccinated and bring[s] in COVID, it doesn't just affect the person they're visiting," said Keating, speaking on Information Morning Saint John.
"Because if we look at this latest Omicron [wave], it just flies through the nursing home in terms of infections. So we've got to find a way that the people can still visit."
Though restrictions on the general public have been lifted, long-term care homes continue to follow Public Health guidance to protect those who are vulnerable, including the wearing of masks and isolating those who are ill.
The Department of Health has said visitors are required to wear a mask, however, they may remove their mask when in a resident's room at the resident's discretion.
Throughout the pandemic, the province has also financially assisted long-term care homes that were facing outbreaks.
That assistance, however, is beginning to be scaled back, and the province has told long-term care homes that by April 30 it will reassess whether any supports will remain in place.
Keating said his association continues to advocate for some supports to continue, as managing outbreaks has financial impacts on nursing homes.
Keating said no nursing homes have yet been impacted by the removal of supports.