**** HEALTH/WELLNESS Media Release
Five New Hospital Admissions, Six Discharges
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Today, February 24, Nova Scotia is reporting five new hospital admissions and six discharges.
There are 46 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 0 to 96 years old. The median age is 67, and the median length of stay of people admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is 6.5 days.
Of the 46 people in hospital, 43 were admitted during the Omicron wave.
The vaccination status of those in hospital is:
— 13 (28.3 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
— 22 (47.8 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
— none are partially vaccinated
— 11 (23.9 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:
— 134 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
— 170 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.
Vaccine Coverage:
As of February 23, 2,208,080 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 92.1 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their first dose, and 86.5 per cent have received their second dose.
As well, 62 per cent of Nova Scotians 18 and older have received a booster dose, and 0.7 per cent have booked a booster dose appointment.
Cases and Testing:
On February 23, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 1,826 tests. An additional 187 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.
There are 65 cases in Central Zone, 43 cases in Eastern Zone, 49 cases in Northern Zone and 30 cases in Western Zone.
As of today, there are an estimated 1,903 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.
Hospital Outbreaks:
NSHA is reporting a new outbreak in a ward at Inverness Consolidated Memorial Hospital. Fewer than five patients have tested positive.
NSHA is also reporting additional cases related to the outbreaks in four hospitals:
— two additional patients in a separate ward at Inverness Consolidated Memorial Hospital; fewer than 10 patients have now tested positive
— two additional patients in a ward at Sutherland Harris Memorial Hospital in Pictou; fewer than 10 patients have tested positive
— one additional patient in a ward at Cape Breton Regional Hospital; 11 patients have now tested positive
— one additional patient in a separate ward at Cape Breton Regional Hospital; fewer than 10 patients have tested positive.
Quick Facts:
— a state of emergency was declared under the Emergency Management Act on March 22, 2020, and has been extended to March 6, 2022
Additional Resources:
More information on COVID-19 case data, testing and vaccines is available at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/data/
Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information on the Province’s response to COVID-19 at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus
Information on current provincewide restrictions and other public health measures to help slow the spread of COVID-19 is available at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/restrictions-and-guidance/
Information on Nova Scotia’s three-phase reopening plan, which started February 14, is available at: https://novascotia.ca/reopening-plan/
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)
