New Brunswick is reporting a drop in the number of people admitted to the hospital due to COVID-19, according to the latest weekly COVID report.
There were 18 hospital admissions for the week ending Saturday, Sept. 24, compared to 21 the previous week.
That included one person in their 50s who was admitted to one of the province’s intensive care units.
As of Saturday, there were 19 people in the hospital because of COVID-19, down from 21 the week before. There were two people in an ICU, unchanged from a week earlier.
Those in the hospital include one person under the age of 10 and one person aged 10 to 19.
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 95 people in the hospital as of Sept. 24 (up from 96 a week earlier) and eight in intensive care (unchanged).
- Horizon Health: 58 active admissions and four in intensive care, compared to 71 active admissions and five in intensive care one week ago.
- Vitalité Health: 37 active admissions and three in intensive care, compared to 25 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, the regional health authorities also include the number of patients who are initially admitted for another reason and later test positive for the virus.
Five more deaths reported
A total of five deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported over the past week in New Brunswick.
Officials said the deaths included one person in their 60s, two people in their 70s, one person in their 80s, and one person aged 90 and over.
There have now been 485 deaths attributed to the virus in New Brunswick since the pandemic began.
Moncton region remains hotspot for new cases
A total of 930 positive cases were reported over the past week, including 558 PCR tests and 372 rapid tests. That was down from 1,091 reported positive cases the previous week.
The Moncton health region, Zone 1, continues to be the hotspot with 326 new cases, accounting for 35 per cent of last week’s total case count.
The Fredericton health region (Zone 3) recorded 32 per cent of the new cases while the Saint John health region (Zone 2) recorded 15 per cent of the new cases.
Amongst the most recent random samples sequenced, two per cent were the BA.2 variant, seven per cent were BA.4 and 91 per cent were BA.5.
Vaccine doses
In terms of vaccinations, the Department of Health says 499 doses were given out over the past week, including 119 first doses, 93 second doses, and 287 first booster doses. That is up from 336 doses the previous week.
A total of 85.4 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received two doses and 53.7 per cent have received a booster shot.
According to the two health authorities, 90 health care workers were off the job as of Saturday for COVID-related reasons, down from 98 a week earlier.
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