**** HEALTH/WELLNESS Media Release
Seven New Hospital Admissions, Three Discharges, Four Deaths, State of Emergency Ends March 20
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NOTE: The last daily COVID-19 news release and data dashboard update will be today, March 4, as Nova Scotia moves to weekly reporting. The next COVID-19 release and dashboard update will be on Thursday, March 10.
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Today, March 4, Nova Scotia is reporting seven new hospital admissions and three discharges.
Nova Scotia is also reporting four deaths related to COVID-19:
— a man in his 50s in Northern Zone
— a man in his 70s in Eastern Zone
— a man in his 80s in Northern Zone
— a man in his 80s in Western Zone.
“This is another difficult day for our province as we send condolences to four more families who have lost loved ones to COVID-19,” said Premier Tim Houston. “Our way forward continues to be following public health advice, getting vaccinated, getting tested and staying home if you feel unwell. Doing this will help protect ourselves and others.”
There are 45 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 and are receiving specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit. That includes 13 people in ICU. The age range of those in hospital is five to 91 years old. The median age is 61, and the median length of stay of people admitted to hospital due to COVID-19 is 6.5 days.
“It is never easy reporting COVID-19 deaths, as it is a sad reminder of the serious nature of this virus and the impact is has on people and their families,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. “As restrictions start to lift even more and we shift to living with COVID, it’s important to remember the pandemic is not over. COVID-19 is still circulating in communities across the province – so get vaccinated, test regularly and continue to follow public health advice to help protect our most vulnerable Nova Scotians.”
Of the 45 people in hospital, 43 were admitted during the Omicron wave.
The vaccination status of those in hospital is:
— 12 (26.7 per cent) people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine
— 23 (51.1 per cent) are fully vaccinated (two doses)
— 1 (2.2 per cent) is partially vaccinated
— 9 (20 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:
— 117 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
— 158 people who contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.
Vaccine Coverage:
As of March 3, 2,217,196 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 92.2 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their first dose, and 86.8 per cent have received their second dose.
As well, 62.7 per cent of Nova Scotians 18 and older have received a booster dose, and 0.3 per cent have booked a booster dose appointment.
Cases and Testing:
On March 3, Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) labs completed 1,632 tests. An additional 294 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported.
There are 117 cases in Central Zone, 64 cases in Eastern Zone, 43 cases in Northern Zone and 70 cases in Western Zone.
There will be an increase in new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported because of a change in testing protocol announced last week. People with positive rapid test results are now able to get a confirmatory PCR lab test.
As of today, there are an estimated 2,650 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.
The Province is renewing the state of emergency to protect the health and safety of Nova Scotians and ensure safety measures and other important actions can continue. The order will take effect at noon, Sunday, March 6, and the state of emergency will end at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, March 20, 2022.
Quick Facts:
— a state of emergency was declared under the Emergency Management Act on March 22, 2020
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)
