Today, January 19, Nova Scotia is reporting 11 new hospital admissions and five discharges.

Nova Scotia is also reporting three deaths related to COVID-19:
— a man in his 60s in Central Zone
— a man in his 80s in Central Zone
— a woman in her 80s in Central Zone

There are 83 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 and are receiving specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit. That includes 12 people in ICU. The age range of those in hospital is 29-100 years old. The average age is 69 and the average length of stay of people admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is 6.5 days.

COVID-19 hospitalizations in COVID-19 designated units now include people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to the hospital and were later transferred to a COVID-19 unit. This change better reflects the hospital situation. This does not change the overall totals that have been reported.

Of the 83 people in hospital, 77 were admitted during the Omicron wave.

The vaccination status of those in hospital is:
— 12 (14.5 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
— 51 (61.4 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
— 3 (3.6 per cent) are partially vaccinated
— 17 (20.5 per cent) are unvaccinated.

It is important to note that less than 10 per cent of Nova Scotians are unvaccinated.

There are also two other groups of people in hospital related to COVID-19:
— 66 people who were identified as positive upon arrival at hospital but were admitted for another medical reason, or were admitted for COVID-19 but no longer require specialized care
— 107 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.

Vaccine Coverage:

As of January 18, 1,979,992 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 90.7 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their first dose, and 83.2 per cent have received their second dose.

As well, 38.6 per cent of Nova Scotians 18 and older have received a booster dose and 11.4 per cent have booked a booster dose appointment. 

Cases and Testing:

On January 18, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 4,232 tests. An additional 527 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.

There are 267 cases in Central Zone, 144 cases in Eastern Zone, 49 cases in Northern Zone and 67 cases in Western Zone.

As of today, there are an estimated 5,374 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.

Hospital and Long-Term Care Outbreaks:

The NSHA is reporting a new outbreak in a ward at Cape Breton Regional Hospital. Fewer then five patients at each facility have tested positive. All patients are being closely monitored and other infection prevention and control measures are being put in place. 

The Province is reporting seven outbreaks in long-term care facilities:
— three staff at North Queens Nursing Home in Caledonia
— six staff and three residents at Shoreham Village in Chester
— four staff and 10 residents at Oakwood Terrace in Dartmouth
— 14 staff and six residents at Saint Vincent’s Nursing Home in Halifax
— four staff at Wynn Park Villa in Truro
— two staff and one resident at Cedarstone Enhanced Care in Truro 
–three staff at Harbourstone in Sydney

Public health is working with the facilities to prevent further spread. Increased public health measures and restrictions are in place.

Quick Facts:
— a state of emergency was declared under the Emergency Management Act on March 22, 2020, and has been extended to January 23, 2022

Additional Resources:
Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information, handwashing posters and fact sheets at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus

Information on provincewide restrictions that took effect December 22 and other public health measures to help slow the spread of COVID-19 is available at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/restrictions-and-guidance/

More information on COVID-19 case data, testing and vaccines is available at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/data/

More information about public health text notifications of positive COVID-19 cases and close contacts is available here: https://www.nshealth.ca/news/public-health-notifying-positive-covid-19-cases-text-advising-notify-close-contacts

Government of Canada: https://canada.ca/coronavirus or 1-833-784-4397 (toll-free)

Source: Release