Nova Scotia reports 13 deaths caused by COVID-19 for the seven-day period ending May 23.
Nova Scotia’s health labs have confirmed 1,584 new cases this week, an average of 226 new cases a day, according to a provincial press release on Thursday.
There were 40 new hospitalizations as a result of the virus over this seven-day period.
The number of new cases continues to decline, along with the number of hospitalizations, the statement said.
The province said hospitalizations due to COVID-19 were nearly 11 times higher, and the risk of death was 114 times higher for people aged 70 and over than younger people.
A statement from health authorities said Thursday that 287 people currently in hospital had COVID-19.
- 33 people are in hospital for COVID-19, including eight in intensive care.
- 171 people are in hospital for something else, but they have COVID-19.
- 83 people became infected with COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.
Hospitalization numbers for the IWK Health Center are not included in Nova Scotia’s health data. CBC News has requested numbers from this facility and is awaiting a response.
The number of staff for the health authority is not included due to a technical problem, the statement said.
Dr Lisa Barrett, an infectious disease expert, said the current wave of COVID-19 seemed to be regressing. However, she said fewer people seemed to be wearing masks and gatherings had increased, so it took a long time for the wave to end.
She said public health still recommends wearing masks indoors after the mask mandate was lifted in schools this week.
“Hopefully, most of these kids will still be wearing masks in these indoor spaces by the end of the school year,” Barrett said.
No briefing
For the first time in many weeks, the province did not hold a teleconference to answer the latest data and answer questions from the media.
Following the launch of the Affordable Housing Initiative in New Glasgow on Thursday, Prime Minister Tim Houston outlined the province’s plans to end COVID-19 briefings altogether.
“I feel very strongly that the people of Nova Scotia have the tools they need to keep themselves and their families safe,” Houston said. “The reality is that we are moving to a different stage of the pandemic and moving forward.
Thursday’s news release also said the province’s COVID-19 online public dashboard would continue to be updated until the end of June.
Liberal leader Ian Rankin said there was “really no flaw” in holding public briefings.
“I don’t understand why they would completely remove themselves from this public accountability measure,” Rankin said.
“If he is not the prime minister, at least the health minister or other civil servants can be provided and it does not have to be weekly.
The province encourages people to get vaccinated if they have not already done so. Those 70 years of age or older are encouraged to receive a second booster dose.
According to the county, 65.6% of Nova Scotians aged 18 and over have received at least one second vaccine, and 59,631 people have received a second intensive vaccine.
The province said unvaccinated people were at the highest risk of serious illness.
From the beginning of the Omicron wave in Nova Scotia on December 8, 2021:
- The mean age of PCR-confirmed cases of COVID-19 was 43 years.
- The average age of hospitalizations is 71 years.
- The average age of reported deaths was 81 years.
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