New Brunswick reported an increase in the number COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations over the past week.
According to the latest weekly COVID report, there were 27 hospital admissions for the week ending Saturday, Oct. 8, compared to 19 the previous week.
Among those admitted to the hospital was one person under the age of 10 and another person in their 30s.
There were two admissions to the province’s intensive care units — one person in their 60s and one person in their 70s.
As of Saturday, there were 27 people in the hospital because of COVID-19, up from 17 the week before. There were three people in an ICU, up from one 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 113 people in the hospital as of Oct. 8 (up from 91 a week earlier) and seven in intensive care (up from six).
- Horizon Health: 87 active admissions and seven in intensive care, compared to 62 active admissions and five in intensive care one week ago.
- Vitalité Health: 26 active admissions and zero in intensive care, compared to 29 active admissions and one 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.
Three more deaths reported
A total of three deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported over the past week in New Brunswick.
Officials said the most recent deaths all involved people aged 90 and over.
There have now been 493 deaths attributed to the virus in New Brunswick since the pandemic began.
Moncton region remains hotspot for new cases
A total of 1,161 positive cases were reported over the past week, including 631 positive PCR tests and 530 rapid tests. That was up from 1,053 reported positive cases the previous week.
The Moncton health region, Zone 1, continues to be the hotspot with 326 new cases, accounting for 28 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 24 per cent of the new cases.
Amongst the most recent random samples sequenced, 10 per cent were the BA.4 variant and 90 per cent were BA.5.
Vaccine doses
In terms of vaccinations, the Department of Health says 2,980 doses were given out over the past week, including 144 first doses, 223 second doses, and 250 first booster doses, and 2,363 second booster doses.
A total of 85.5 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received two doses, and 53.8 per cent have received a booster shot, and 22.5 per cent have received their second booster.
According to the two health authorities, 126 health care workers were off the job for COVID-related reasons as of Saturday, up from 105 a week earlier.
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