New Brunswick confirmed 10 more COVID-related deaths in its latest weekly report, bringing the total to 822.

Public Health said none of the deaths happened during the reporting period, between Feb. 5 and 11.

Six of the deaths occurred in January, according to a graph provided by the province. Two others happened in late December, one in mid-November and one before Aug. 28, 2022.

“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.

Public Health only provided details on the nine most recent deaths. They all involved people aged 70 and over.

Hospitalizations and ICU admissions

The virus sent 10 more people to the hospital between Feb. 5 and 11, including three to an intensive care unit.

Of those admitted, one person was under the age of 20, one was between 20 and 59 years old, three were 60 to 69 years old, and five were aged 70 and older.

During the previous week, there were nine new admissions to the hospital, but none to an ICU.

“Since August 28, 2022, the rate of hospitalizations is highest among those aged 70 years and older,” said the weekly report.

As part of recent reporting changes, 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 66 people in the hospital as of Feb. 11 (unchanged from a week earlier) and six in intensive care (up from five).

• Horizon Health: 47 active admissions and four in intensive care, compared to 42 active admissions and four in intensive care one week earlier.
• Vitalité Health: 19 active admissions and two in intensive care, compared to 24 active admissions and one 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.

Moncton, Fredericton regions the hotspot for new cases

A total of 527 positive cases were reported over the past week, including 379 positive PCR tests and 148 self-reported rapid tests. That was up from 472 reported positive cases the previous week.

The Moncton health region (Zone 1) and Fredericton health region (Zone 3) were the hotspots with 151 cases each, accounting for 57 per cent of the total case count.

The Saint John health region (Zone 2) recorded 17 per cent of the new cases.

Amongst the most recent random samples sequenced, 70 per cent were the BA.5 variant, 26 per cent were XBB, and four per cent were BA.2.

Vaccine doses

In terms of vaccinations, the Department of Health says 892 doses were given out over the past week, including 64 first doses, 58 second doses, 156 first booster doses, and 614 second booster doses.

A total of 85.8 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received two doses, 54.7 per cent have received a booster shot, and 30 per cent have received their second booster.

According to the two health authorities, 95 health care workers were off the job for COVID-related reasons as of Saturday, compared to 80 health care workers a week earlier.