The number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 climbed for the second consecutive week in New Brunswick.
A total of six deaths were reported for the week ending Aug. 20, according to the latest weekly COVID report from the Department of Health.
Officials said the deaths involved someone in their 30s, one person in their 80s, and four people aged 90 and over.
New Brunswick health officials reported five deaths the previous week and four deaths the week before that.
There have now been 462 deaths attributed to the virus in New Brunswick since the pandemic began.
Hospital admissions steady, active hospitalizations fall
The number of new hospital admissions remained steady on a week-over-week basis while active hospitalizations fell slightly.
According to the COVID report, there were 22 hospital admissions for the week ending Saturday, unchanged from the previous week. One of the new admissions involved someone under the age of 10.
Two people were admitted to an intensive care unit in the province, including one person in their 30s and one in their 60s.
As of Saturday, there were 21 people in the hospital because of COVID-19, a decrease of six from the week before. There was only one person in an ICU, down from four a week earlier.
People between the ages of 70 and 89 account for the highest portion of hospitalizations, according to the report.
Meanwhile, the two regional health authorities reported 113 people in the hospital as of Aug. 20 (up from 111 a week earlier) and seven in intensive care (down from eight).
- Horizon Health: 95 active admissions and six in intensive care, compared to 90 active admissions and five in intensive care one week ago.
- Vitalité Health: 18 active admissions and one in intensive care, compared to 21 active admissions and three in intensive care one week ago.
Unlike the provincial data, which only accounts for those who are admitted to the hospital with COVID-19, RHAs also include the number of patients who are initially admitted for another reason and later test positive for the virus.
Moncton region remains hotspot for new cases
A total of 1,513 positive cases were reported over the past week, including 797 PCR tests and 716 rapid tests. That was up from 1,265 reported positive cases the previous week.
The Moncton health region, Zone 1, continues to be the hotspot with 490 new cases, accounting for more than 32 per cent of last week’s total case count.
The Fredericton health region (Zone 3) recorded about 23 per cent of the new cases while the Saint John health region (Zone 2) recorded about 14 per cent of the new cases.
Amongst the most recent random samples sequenced, one per cent were the BA.2 variant, five per cent were BA.4, and 94 per cent were BA.5.
Fewer than 900 vaccine doses given
In terms of vaccinations, the Department of Health says 880 doses were given out over the past week, including 316 first doses, 147 second doses, and 417 booster doses.
A total of 88.4 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received two doses and 53.4 per cent have received booster shots.
According to the two health authorities, 237 health care workers were off the job as of Saturday for COVID-related reasons, up from 211 a week earlier.
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