N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 3 deaths, no more daily case reports
CBC
Public Health announced three more COVID-related deaths Wednesday and said new case counts "and other data updates" will no longer be included in its news releases, starting Saturday.
The information will still be available on the COVID-19 dashboard.
"We know that the PCR [polymerase chain reaction] cases we will be reporting are not a true reflection of the severity of the situation," Dr. Jennifer Russell, chief medical officer of health, said in a statement.
That's because the province is now limiting diagnostic PCR lab tests for those considered at the highest risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19.
Anyone else with symptoms must rely on less accurate at-home rapid tests and self-report positive results.
"We need to remember that COVID-19 is all around us and we need to follow Public Health measures, including getting fully vaccinated and getting a booster when eligible," Russell said.
A person 50 to 59 years old in the Saint John region, Zone 2, and two people in the Fredericton region, Zone 3, one aged 50 to 59 and the other 70 to 79, have died as a result of COVID-19, according to a news release.
Their deaths push the pandemic death toll to 168.
Based on information available from PCR tests, Public Health is reporting 779 new cases of COVID-19.
The breakdown of the new COVID cases includes:
There are now 6,823 active cases across the province.
Fifty-nine people are in hospital with COVID-19, up from 56, including 16 in intensive care. Ten of them are on ventilators.
Of those in hospital, 41 are over the age of 60, and none are under 19.
"The rate of people hospitalized and in ICU continues to most greatly impact people who are unvaccinated," Public Health said in the news release.
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