The number of deaths attributed to COVID-19 in New Brunswick has jumped by 86, according to Public Health.

Health officials released the updated figures on Friday following a “reconciliation analysis” completed by staff.

Public Health said the revised number of deaths related to COVID-19 in the province now stands at 714.

In October, the province announced that it had updated its definition of COVID-related deaths.

Deaths are now attributed to the virus “if there was a clinical indication that COVID-19 was the primary cause of death or directly contributed to the death.”

The new deaths announced on Friday occurred between early September and early December.

Public Health noted that deaths are subject to an average two-month lag in reporting between the date of death and receiving the registration of death form.

It noted that registrations are filled out by workers in the health-care sector or by funeral home directors, resulting in some cases being reported later than others and which need to be reviewed.

“This is a strong indication that the new process functions as intended and is allowing us to capture records that would have been otherwise missed,” Dr. Yves Léger, acting chief medical officer of health, said in a statement.

A previous review for the period of March 1, 2020, to May 31, 2022, found that 125 deaths should be added from the total count and 46 should be removed, for a net increase of 79.

Changes coming to weekly COVIDWATCH report

The province also announced Friday that changes are coming to the weekly COVID-19 reports, which are usually released on Tuesdays.

Starting Dec. 20, the reports will “better reflect deaths by presenting them based upon the date of death,” said the release.

The report will also include the seven-day moving average of COVID-19 deaths, death rates by age group, death rates by vaccination status, and age-adjusted rates.

In addition, Public Health will be changing its COVID-19 vaccination status categories to: unvaccinated; completed primary series; completed primary series and one additional dose; and completed primary series and two or more additional doses.

There are currently only two categories: protected and unprotected. Protected refers to boosted or fully vaccinated less than six months, while unprotected refers to fully vaccinated more than six months, partially vaccinated, and unvaccinated.