Another week-over-week increase in the number of people admitted to hospital in New Brunswick as a result of COVID-19.
The province’s weekly COVID report shows 35 hospital admissions for the week ending Saturday, Sept. 3, compared to 31 the previous week. Two of the new admissions involved people under the age of 10.
Two people were admitted to an intensive care unit in the province, both between the ages of 70 and 89.
As of Saturday, there were 37 people in the hospital because of COVID-19, an increase of four from the week before. There were two people 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 83 people in the hospital as of Sept. 3 (down from 99 a week earlier) and three in intensive care (down from five).
- Horizon Health: 55 active admissions and zero in intensive care, compared to 71 active admissions and three in intensive care one week ago.
- Vitalité Health: 28 active admissions and three in intensive care, compared to 28 active admissions and two 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.
Six more deaths reported
A total of six deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported over the past week in New Brunswick.
Officials said the deaths involved someone in their 50s, four people in their 80s, and one person aged 90 and over.
There have now been 472 deaths attributed to the virus in New Brunswick since the pandemic began.
Moncton region remains hotspot for new cases
A total of 1,175 positive cases were reported over the past week, including 589 PCR tests and 586 rapid tests. That was down from 1,398 reported positive cases the previous week.
The Moncton health region, Zone 1, continues to be the hotspot with 410 new cases, accounting for nearly 35 per cent of last week’s total case count.
The Fredericton health region (Zone 3) recorded 26 per cent of the new cases while the Saint John health region (Zone 2) recorded nearly 15 per cent of the new cases.
Amongst the most recent random samples sequenced, one per cent were the BA.2 variant, 10 per cent were BA.4 and 89 per cent were BA.5.
Nearly 800 vaccine doses given
In terms of vaccinations, the Department of Health says 792 doses were given out over the past week, including 231 first doses, 164 second doses, and 397 booster doses.
A total of 85.3 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received two doses and 53.5 per cent have received booster shots.
According to the two health authorities, 119 health care workers were off the job as of Saturday for COVID-related reasons, down from 209 a week earlier.
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