Nova Scotia reports 24 COVID-19 deaths in past week, an all-time high
CBC
Nova Scotia is reporting a record number of COVID-19 deaths in its latest weekly report.
Twenty-four people died between April 19 and 25. That brings the total of Nova Scotians who have died since the Omicron surge began on Dec. 8 to 202. Their ages range from between 10 and 100 years old, with a median age of 80.
"The number of deaths isn't surprising. It's very extremely unfortunate but it's not surprising," said Dr. Shelley Deeks in a teleconference Thursday.
"As the numbers go up, we do know that a certain proportion will be severe, will be hospitalized and unfortunately will die."
There are 55 people currently in hospital due to COVID-19, including 10 in ICU.
However, the number of cases overall is decreasing. The daily case average stands at 777 new cases, down from 1,073 a week ago.
Deeks said the province is now in its sixth COVID wave. The fifth wave includes cases between Dec. 8, 2021 and Feb. 28, 2022, and the sixth wave began March 1, 2022. Deeks said the data on PCR-confirmed infections suggests the peak of the sixth wave is now behind us.
She said about 14,000 Nova Scotians have so far received a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine since appointments opened up for people over 70 last week.
According to the province, those who received three doses of COVID-19 vaccine had an 85 per cent lower risk of hospitalization and a 93 per cent lower risk of death than those who were unvaccinated or had only one dose.
Since Dec. 8, 2,057 residents of long-term care homes have tested positive for COVID-19. Fifty-two residents have died, a fatality rate of 2.5 per cent.
That number stands in sharp contrast to the first wave of the pandemic, before vaccines were available. In the spring of 2020, 57 of the 263 long-term care residents who tested positive died — a fatality rate of nearly 22 per cent.
Nova Scotia's health minister said the province still recommends masking and physical distancing, even though the provincial government dropped most mask requirements on March 21 as the sixth wave picked up steam.
"Those public health measures are just as important today as they were prior," Michelle Thompson told CBC Radio's Mainstreet this week.
"But we need to learn to live alongside COVID and we need to move through this transition phase together."
After walking a few laps around the shop, Maria Castagna picks up a glass ornament in the form of a pink, sparkly ice cream cone and smiles widely.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham says he has much unfinished work from his first term in office, as he prepares to make his pitch to voters ahead of the 2026 election.
Moving to Canada from Singapore meant losing close social connections for Iris Akbar, but Akbar says the gift was in finding an affirming space with friends that became like family.
Women and children staying at Regina Transition House now have access to Santa’s workshop — a safe space where mothers can choose Christmas gifts for their children.
A man from Powell River, B.C., is thankful to be alive after a stranger helped him while he was choking at a restaurant during a visit to Whistler.
When it comes to Hamilton readers' favourite library books of 2025, romance and mysteries are in close competition.
From the Detroit Lions losing to Apple iPhones that spontaneously update, Windsorites had things that bugged them this year.
Calgary emergency rooms are “in a state of critical overcapacity” ahead of the anticipated peak of flu season — and to cope with the surge and wait-room crowding, officials are urging doctors to speed up their decisions on whether to admit patients, according to a memo obtained by CBC News.
Northern Ontario's highway system needs improvements in order to make travel safer, a highway safety advocate said.
Hundreds of thousands of used tires are piling up across Ontario as some companies responsible for tire recycling have stopped processing tires amid reduced provincial recycling regulations for tire producers, industry experts say.
People in Guelph facing homelessness will soon have a new place to go during the day.
Islanders are reminded to plan their rides ahead of holiday festivities if they plan on drinking alcohol or using cannabis.
Even before Gwen Healey Akearok began her new role as Nunavut’s Minister of Family Services, she was tuning into the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) hearings on the state of the Family Services department.