COVID-19 update: 3 deaths reported; January now deadliest month of pandemic in N.S.

Nova Scotia reported three deaths due to COVID-19 on Monday, making January 2022 the deadliest month of the entire COVID-19 pandemic in Nova Scotia, with 35 total deaths.

The province recorded 32 deaths in May 2020, during the Northwood Halifax outbreak.

Of the deaths reported today, a man in his 70s died in the Central Zone and a woman in her 70s, as well as a man in his 80s, died in the Western Zone. 

Premier Tim Houston said his thoughts are with the affected families. “I hope they find some comfort in the warmth extended to them by their neighbours and fellow Nova Scotians,” Houston said in a news release. 

“And I hope that Nova Scotians continue to come together and do all we can to prevent this from happening to another family.”

The province reported 10 new hospital admissions and nine discharges. There are 93 people in hospitals in the province who were admitted due to COVID-19, including 15 people in intensive care. Of those in hospital, four arrived prior to the Omicron wave. 

The ages of those in hospital range from one to 100. The average age is 68. Those in hospital due to COVID-19 are staying for an average of 7.6 days. 

There are 116 people in hospitals who were admitted for another reason but tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival or were admitted for COVID-19 but no longer require specialized care. As well, 142 people contracted COVID-19 after arriving at the hospital. 

Of those in hospital, 21.5 per cent are unvaccinated. Less than 10 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population is unvaccinated. 

There are two new outbreaks in Nova Scotia’s hospitals: one at Hants Community Hospital in Windsor; and the other at Dartmouth General Hospital. There are fewer than five positive cases reported from each outbreak.

The province reported 256 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday after the Nova Scotia Health Authority completed 1,721 tests. This brings the active cases in the province to 3,913.