Nova Scotia reports 3 COVID-19 deaths Monday
CBC
Nova Scotia reported three deaths and 29 new admissions to hospital on Monday.
The deaths include a man in his 60s in the eastern zone, a man in his 70s in the northern zone, and a man in his 80s in the central zone. All three contracted COVID-19 during the Omicron wave, the province said in a news release.
There are 59 people in hospital, including two people in intensive care. The province also reported 19 people have been discharged from the hospital since its last update on Jan. 7.
The ages of people in hospital range from 31 to 100 years old, and the average age is 69.
Of the 59 people in hospital, 55 were admitted during the Omicron wave.
The province reported 816 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with 526 cases in central zone, 110 cases in eastern zone, 70 cases in northern zone and 110 cases in western zone. The province estimated there were 6,906 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia as of Monday.
From Jan. 8 to Jan. 9, 69 of 1,982 positive lab results were repeat positives, the province noted.
The vaccination status of those in hospital is:
Only 10 per cent of Nova Scotians are unvaccinated.
Nova Scotia schools went online starting Monday while in-person classes were delayed a week because of the ongoing spike in cases of the Omicron variant.
The decision to delay in-person classes has been controversial, with some arguing whether the risk of COVID-19 or more time out of the classroom poses the greater risk to children.
Dr. Tracey Vaillancourt, chair of a national COVID-19 taskforce based in Ottawa, has been studying the impacts of remote work on children.
She told CBC's Maritime Connection on Sunday the research shows children are better off in school.
Her group made many recommendations for testing, ventilation, smaller classes, better masks and prioritizing teachers for boosters. However, she said across the country, the measures still haven't been widely adopted.