N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 4 more COVID-related deaths, hospitalizations remain at record-high 165
CBC
New Brunswick recorded four more COVID-related deaths Thursday, and the number of people in hospital with the virus remains at a record-high 165.
Twenty-three people have died since the province returned to the less restrictive Level 2 of the COVID-19 winter plan last Friday at 11:59 p.m.
The latest deaths include a person in their 70s in the Saint John region, Zone 2, two people 90 or over in the Fredericton region, Zone 3, and a person 90 or over in the Bathurst region, Zone 6, the COVID-19 dashboard shows.
Of those in hospital, 68 are hospitalized for COVID-19, while the other 97 are hospitalized with COVID, meaning they were admitted for something else when they tested positive for the virus.
The number of people in intensive care has dropped by two, to 14, with all but one of them hospitalized for COVID. Six of them are on ventilators, an increase of one.
Five of the people hospitalized are 19 or under. Of those in ICU, one is in their 30s, two are in their 40s, three in their 60s, six in their 70s, and two in their 80s.
The seven-day average of hospitalizations has increased to 157 from 154, while the seven-day average of ICU admissions has increased by one, to 15.
Based on PCR (polymerase chain reaction) lab tests, 411 new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed, putting the total active case count at 4,012.
An additional 485 people self-reported testing positive at home with rapid tests.
As of Thursday, 45.2 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have had their booster shot, up from 44.7 per cent, 84.8 per cent had received two doses of a vaccine, up from 84.7 per cent, and 92.2 per cent had received one dose, unchanged, according to the dashboard.
A total of 694,753 PCR tests have been conducted to date, including 2,152 on Wednesday.
New Brunswick has had 29,905 cases of COVID since the beginning of the pandemic with 25,640 recoveries so far and 251 COVID-related deaths.
The New Brunswick Nurses Union says its members are suffering and need support. It has launched a social media campaign — Nurses' Mental Health Matters — to highlight the stress of those working on the COVID-19 pandemic front lines.
Union president Paula Doucet says more than 4,000 members shared their feelings in a recent survey.
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