Three more COVID-related deaths have been reported in New Brunswick as the province reports a drop in hospitalizations.
The new deaths, announced in the province’s weekly COVID report on Tuesday, bring the total number to 877.
Public Health said none of the deaths happened during the most recent reporting period, which ran from April 9 to 15. Two occurred in January and one happened in March.
“Deaths are subject to a lag in reporting,” said the report, noting it takes an average of two months from the date of death and receiving the registration of death form.
All three people were aged 70 and older, according to figures provided by Public Health.
New and current hospitalizations fall slightly
The virus sent 12 more people to the hospital between April 9 and 15, including one to an intensive care unit.
Of those admitted to the hospital, one person was between the ages of 20 and 59, one was 60 to 69 years old, and 10 were aged 70 and older.
During the previous week, there were 19 new admissions to the hospital and one to an ICU.
Public Health no longer includes information on how many people are currently in the hospital because of COVID-19.
However, the two regional health authorities reported 35 people in the hospital as of April 15 (down from 39 a week earlier) and zero in intensive care (down from two a week earlier).
- Horizon Health: 22 active hospitalizations and zero in intensive care, compared to 24 active admissions and two in intensive care one week earlier.
- Vitalité Health: 13 active hospitalizations and zero in intensive care, compared to 15 active admissions and zero in intensive care one week earlier.
Unlike the provincial data, which only accounts for those who are admitted to the hospital for 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.
Test positivity rate nearly unchanged
There were 102 positive PCR tests between April 9 and 15, up from 98 the previous week.
A total of 913 PCR tests were conducted for a positivity rate of 11.2 per cent compared to 11 per cent the previous week. The positivity rate is considered an indicator of community transmission.
This was the second full week of reporting after the province did away with the self-referral option for COVID-19 PCR testing.
As of April 1, PCR tests are only being made available when requested by a health-care provider.
Meanwhile, there were also 55 positive self-reported rapid tests for a weekly total of 157 cases, down from 177 total cases reported the week before.
The Moncton health region (Zone 1) recorded 35 per cent of the new cases, followed by the Fredericton health region (Zone 3) with 21 per cent and the Saint John health region (Zone 2) with 20 per cent.
Among the most recent random PCR samples sequenced, 92 per cent were the XBB variant (up from 89 per cent) and eight per cent were BA.5 (down from nine per cent).
According to the two health authorities, 25 health care workers were off the job for COVID-related reasons as of April 8, compared to 54 health care workers a week earlier.
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