A drop in the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19, according to New Brunswick’s weekly COVID report.
There were 23 hospital admissions for the week ending Saturday, Sept. 10, compared to 35 the previous week.
Two people were admitted to an intensive care unit in the province, including one person in their 20s and one in their 40s.
As of Saturday, there were 35 people in the hospital because of COVID-19, a decrease of two from the week before. There were four 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 81 people in the hospital as of Sept. 10 (down from 83 a week earlier) and 12 in intensive care (up from three).
- Horizon Health: 57 active admissions and six in intensive care, compared to 55 active admissions and zero in intensive care one week ago.
- Vitalité Health: 24 active admissions and six in intensive care, compared to 28 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.
Four more deaths reported
A total of four deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported over the past week in New Brunswick.
Officials said the deaths involved someone in their 50s, one person in their 70s, one person in their 80s, and one person aged 90 and over.
There have now been 476 deaths attributed to the virus in New Brunswick since the pandemic began.
Moncton region remains hotspot for new cases
A total of 955 positive cases were reported over the past week, including 575 PCR tests and 380 rapid tests. That was down from 1,175 reported positive cases the previous week.
The Moncton health region, Zone 1, continues to be the hotspot with 331 new cases, accounting for nearly 35 per cent of last week’s total case count.
The Fredericton health region (Zone 3) recorded nearly 22 per cent of the new cases while the Saint John health region (Zone 2) recorded nearly 23 per cent of the new cases.
Amongst the most recent random samples sequenced, one per cent were the BA.2 variant, one per cent were BA.4 and 98 per cent were BA.5.
Fewer than 550 vaccine doses given
In terms of vaccinations, the Department of Health says 548 doses were given out over the past week, including 133 first doses, 107 second doses, and 308 booster doses. That is down from 792 doses the previous week.
A total of 85.4 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received two doses and 53.6 per cent have received booster shots.
According to the two health authorities, 147 health care workers were off the job as of Saturday for COVID-related reasons, up from 119 a week earlier.
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