Eleven Nova Scotians died from COVID-19 the week of Aug. 9-15, the province's updated COVID-19 dashboard showed Thursday.

There were an average of 206 daily COVID-19 cases during that time, a decrease from 249&nbsp;

. Five deaths from COVID-19 were reported last week.

New hospital admissions due to&nbsp;COVID-19 were 40, down from 46 a week ago.

Nova Scotia Health reported Thursday that:

50 patients are in hospital being treated for COVID-19, seven of whom are in intensive care.

127 patients in hospital have COVID-19 but are being treated for something else.

94 patients in hospital contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.

Nova Scotia Health reported 240&nbsp;employees off work on Thursday&nbsp;due to being diagnosed as positive for COVID-19, awaiting results of a COVID-19 test,&nbsp;or being exposed to a member of their household who tested positive for COVID-19.

Nova Scotia: COVID-19 hospitalizations

The IWK Children's Hospital is reporting there are fewer than five children are in hospital&nbsp;being treated for COVID-19.

Nova Scotia: Weekly COVID-19 deaths

Fifty-six staff members at the hospital are off work due to COVID-19 and 11 are self-isolating.

On July 6, the province limited who can access to PCR tests to&nbsp;

, including people over 50, front-line health care workers and immunocompromised people. People who test positive on a rapid test can no longer have their result confirmed via a PCR test.

Nova Scotia: Daily new COVID-19 cases

Patients sick with COVID-19 who are admitted to hospital in Nova Scotia are&nbsp;

no longer being treated separately from patients who don't have it.

Since March 2020, there have been 484&nbsp;COVID-19 deaths in Nova Scotia.

N.S. Health staff off work due to COVID-19

Paqtnkek Mi'kmaw Nation in shock over death of Chief Tma Francis

Paqtnkek Mi'kmaw Nation Chief Tma Francis died suddenly at his home on August 15. He was 40 years old. He was appointed chief in August 2020 and was elected in November 2021.

Paqtnkek Mi'kmaw First Nation Chief Tma Francis died suddenly on Aug. 15 at his home. 

Paqtnkek Mi'kmaw First Nation Chief Tma Francis

Cost of Halifax Infirmary redevelopment could top $3 billion

CBC News has learned the estimated price of the Halifax Infirmary redevelopment project has ballooned to more than $3 billion, a number so high that the group bidding on the work has concerns about its ability to get sufficient insurance coverage.

A rendering of the redeveloped Halifax Infirmary on a sign outside the hospital's Summer Street entrance.

Halifax Infirmary

First Nations lobster fishermen in N.S. not required to observe whale closure

The department is allowing ceremonial lobster fishing in St. Marys Bay to continue, raising concerns about conservation and fairness.

Sipekne'katik fishers working on St. Marys Bay. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans have seized hundreds of lobster traps in the area.

Fishers Nov. 25

There is a right whale and her calf just breaking the surface of the blue ocean.

There are an estimated 336 North Atlantic right whales left in the world, making them critically endangered.

Right Whales

Pressures on Canada's passport system easing, minister says

Passport offices across the country have seen a surge in demand for months now, but the federal minister in charge of passport services says pressure is easing thanks to more than 400 new employees and four new passport pickup locations.

Woman stands before microphone in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill.

Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Karina Gould speaks to reporters before heading to Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Thursday, June 23, 2022. 

Commons 20220623 Karina Gould

Karina Gould, minister of Families, Children and Social Development, says some of the pressures on Canada's passport services seem to be easing.

Happy to Chat benches in Dartmouth encourage strangers to start talking

There are 20 benches in Dartmouth with Happy to Chat signs. They tell people you don't mind if they stop to say hello. The project is part of a Dartmouth Community Health Board initiative to combat loneliness. The first benches were installed in early June.

Monique Mullins-Roberts, left, and HRM District 3 Councilor sitting on one of the new happy to chat benches at Birches Park. The sign says sit here if you don't mind someone stopping to say hello.

Happy To Chat

Monique Mullins-Roberts, left, and Becky Kent sit on a 'Happy to Chat' bench at Birches Park. 

This file photos shows medical staff in the ICU at the Humber River Hospital in Toronto turn a COVID-19 patient who is intubated and on a ventilator from his back to his stomach.

Nova Scotia reports 11 deaths from COVID-19 in latest weekly update

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