COVID-19 update: One death, 13 hospital admissions, one new outbreak

Nova Scotia reported one death due to COVID-19 on Tuesday, a man in his 80s in the Central Zone.

“While our case numbers are declining, we cannot forget there are 95 Nova Scotians in hospital battling this virus. They are in my thoughts,” said Premier Tim Houston in a news release. 

The province reported 13 new hospital admissions due to COVID-19 and four discharges. Of the 95 people in hospital, 13 people are in intensive care. There are five people in hospital who were admitted prior to the Omicron wave. 

The ages of those in hospital range from one to 97. The average age is 68. Those in hospital due to COVID-19 are staying for an average of 7.7 days. 

There are 115 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, 135 people contracted COVID-19 after arriving at the hospital. 

Of those in hospital, 23.2 per cent are unvaccinated. Less than 10 per cent of Nova Scotia’s population is unvaccinated. 

There is one new outbreak at Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville. There are fewer than five positive cases reported from the outbreak.

The province reported 274 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Monday after the Nova Scotia Health Authority completed 2,621 tests. This brings active cases in the province to 3,630.