Today, January 13, Nova Scotia is reporting five new hospital admissions and five discharges.

There are 59 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 and are receiving specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit. That includes seven people in ICU. The age range of those in hospital is 0-100 years old, and the average age is 67. Of the 59 people in hospital, 56 were admitted during the Omicron wave.

The average length of stay of those admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is six days.

The vaccination status of those in hospital is:
— 7 (11.9 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
— 31 (52.5 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
— 3 (5.1 per cent) are partially vaccinated
— 18 (30.5 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:
— 46 people who were identified as positive upon arrival to hospital but were admitted for another medical reason or people who were admitted for COVID-19 but no longer require specialized care
— 102 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.

Vaccine Coverage:

As of January 12, 1,906,023 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 90.3 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their first dose, and 83 per cent have received their second dose.

As well, 33 per cent of eligible Nova Scotians have received a booster dose and 18 per cent have booked a booster dose appointment.

Cases and Testing:

On January 12, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 4,436 tests. An additional 542 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.

There are 271 cases in Central Zone, 130 cases in Eastern Zone, 42 cases in Northern Zone and 99 cases in Western Zone.

As of today, there are an estimated 6,620 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.

Hospital Outbreaks:

The NSHA is reporting three new outbreaks in hospitals, at:
— Northside General Hospital in North Sydney
— two separate wards at Colchester East Hants Health Centre

Fewer than 10 patients at each facility have tested positive.

NSHA is also reporting additional cases related to the outbreaks in six hospitals. The additional cases involved are:
— one additional patient at Dartmouth General Hospital; fewer than five patients have tested positive
— one additional patient in a ward at New Waterford Consolidated Hospital; fewer than 10 patients have tested positive
— one additional patient in a separate ward at New Waterford Consolidated Hospital; a total of 15 patients have now tested positive
— one additional patient in a separate ward at Northside General Hospital; a total of 11 patients have now tested positive
— one additional patient in a separate ward at Northside General Hospital; fewer than 10 patients have tested positive
— one additional patient in a separate ward at Northside General Hospital; fewer than five patients have tested positive 

All patients are being closely monitored and other infection prevention and control measures are being put in place. NSHA will provide a further update when more information is available.

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