The number of COVID-19 hospitalizations and reported cases fell over the past week in New Brunswick.
According to the latest weekly COVID report, there were 23 new hospital admissions for the week ending Saturday, Nov. 5, compared to 38 the previous week.
Among those admitted to the hospital was one person in their 20s.
There were three new admissions to the province’s intensive care units compared to two the week before.
As of Saturday, there were 33 people in the hospital because of COVID-19, down from 43 the week before. There were five people in an ICU, up from two 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 146 people in the hospital as of Nov. 5 (down from 167 a week earlier) and 10 in intensive care (up from nine).
- Horizon Health: 117 active admissions and seven in intensive care, compared to 114 active admissions and five in intensive care one week ago.
- Vitalité Health: 29 active admissions and three in intensive care, compared to 53 active admissions and four 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.
Seven more deaths reported
A total of seven deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported over the past week in New Brunswick.
Officials said the most recent deaths involved one person in their 50s, one person in their 70s, two people in their 80s, and three people aged 90 and over.
There have now been 599 deaths attributed to the virus in New Brunswick since the pandemic began.
Moncton region remains hotspot for new cases
A total of 866 positive cases were reported over the past week, including 554 positive PCR tests and 312 rapid tests. That was down from 1,008 reported positive cases the previous week.
The Moncton health region, Zone 1, continues to be the hotspot with 250 new cases, accounting for nearly 29 per cent of last week’s total case count.
The Fredericton health region (Zone 3) recorded 27 per cent of the new cases while the Saint John health region (Zone 2) recorded 21 per cent of the new cases.
Amongst the most recent random samples sequenced, one per cent were the BA.2 variant, eight per cent were BA.4, and 91 per cent were BA.5.
Vaccine doses
In terms of vaccinations, the Department of Health says 4,739 doses were given out over the past week, including 173 first doses, 176 second doses, 431 first booster doses, and 3,959 second booster doses.
A total of 85.6 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received two doses, and 54.1 per cent have received a booster shot, and 24.9 per cent have received their second booster.
According to the two health authorities, 117 health care workers were off the job for COVID-related reasons as of Saturday, up slightly from 114 a week earlier.
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