N.B. reports 4 more COVID-19 deaths, rise in hospital admissions, active hospitalizations

COVID-19 has claimed four more New Brunswickers in the past week, and hospital admissions for COVID-19 and active hospitalizations because of the virus have both increased, the province's latest figures show.

The latest deaths include a person in their60s, a person in their70s,a person in their80s and a person 90 or older, according toTuesday'sCOVIDWatchreport.

Their deaths raise the province's pandemic death toll to466.

Thirty-one people were admitted to hospital for COVID-19 between Aug. 21 and Aug. 27. That's up from 22 in the previous week's report.

There are 33 people currently hospitalized because of the virus, up from 21, according to the province. Four people require intensive care, up from one.

The increase in hospitalizations, following severalweeksof decreases,comes as "a bit of a surprise," said acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Yves Lger.

"So we are working with the [regional health authorities]to try and better understand what are some of the drivers that are happening there," he said. "So we'll be trying to dig deeper into those numbers this week."

Meanwhilethe regional health authorities, which include in their weekly reports people admitted to hospital because of COVID-19, as well as thoseinitially admitted for another reason and later testpositive for the virus, say there are99 New Brunswickers hospitalized either for or with COVID-19, five of whom require intensive care,a slight decrease from last week.

Horizon Health Network reports 71 active COVID-19 hospital admissions, including three patients inintensive care, as of Saturday. That's down from95 and six respectively in last Tuesday's report.

Vitalit Health Network reports 28 COVID-19 patients hospitalized, compared to 18 a week ago a 55 per cent increase. Two people are in intensive care, up from one, the weekly COVID dashboard shows.

Among those admitted to hospital are a child under 10 and a child between 10 and 19, according to the provincial report.

Those admitted to ICU include a person in their 50s, two in their 60s, and one in their 70s.

"The highest portion of hospitalizations for COVID-19 is among individuals aged 70-89," the report states.

"Individuals that are unprotected by vaccine continue to have the highest rate of hospitalization for COVID-19 and ICU admissions."

Asked whether people returning from out-of-province vacations could be a factor in the increased hospitalizations, Lger said ifthat were the case, he would expect to see an increase in new cases of COVID as well.

"It's a bit of a mixed bag that we have this week, where case numbers have gone down but yet our hospitalizations have gone up soagain, we'll have toreally go back and work with the RHAs to explore that further," he said.

1,398 new cases

A total of 1,398 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past week, down from 1,513 in the previous report. That includes 712 cases confirmed through a PCR(polymerase chain reaction) lab test, down from 797, and686 people who self-reported testing positive on a rapid test, down from 716.

The Moncton region, Zone 1, has a third of the cases, at 464, followed by the Fredericton region, Zone 3, with 386,the Bathurst region, Zone 6, with 185,the Saint John region, Zone 2, with 167, the Edmundston region,Zone 4, with 95, the Miramichi region, Zone 7, with 53, and the Campbellton region,Zone 5, with 48.

Fewer PCRtests were conducted in the past week 4,798, down from 5,059 the previous week, putting the positivity rate at roughly 15 per cent.

There are now 1,072 active cases of COVID in the province, based on PCRtests alone.

Of the most recentrandom samples sent for sequencing,82 per cent were the highly transmissible Omicron subvariantBA.5 and the other 18 per cent were the Omicron subvariant BA.4.

Fall increase difficult to predict

It's difficult to predict case counts for the fall, said Lger.

"The increases that we've seen this summer were a bit earlier than what we werethinking would occur.SoCOVID will still, you know, play tricks on us at times."

He's unaware of any fall COVID-19 modelling, he said, but an increasein COVID activity is likely with the change in seasons and start of school.

"When that will happen or how much is yet to be seen," he said.

Masking in schools 'encouraged'

The Department of Education has said there will be nomask ordistancing mandateswhen school resumes on Sept. 6, while some universities have opted to maintain mandatory masking.

Asked what Public Health's recommendation was on masking in schools,Lger did not directly answer the question.

"The school year will look very much the way it did last year with, you know, individuals being able to choose whether or not they wish toutilize the measures that we've all learned to use in the last 2years," he said.

Among them,he listed masking indoors, keeping social contacts low, and socializing outdoors when possible.

"Public Health continues to strongly encourage individuals to consider utilizing those measures to protect themselves from COVID."

Pressed further on what Public Health's recommendation on masking was, Lgerrepeated, "We are continuing to encourage individuals to make decisions for themselves."

Vaccination rates

Among children aged five to 11, the first-dose vaccination rate is 56 per cent and the two-dose rate is 40 per cent, as of Tuesday, said Department of Health spokesperson Adam Bowie.

He did not immediately respond to a request to provide the vaccination rates for youth aged 12 to 19, or children under five.

A total of93.7 per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have now received their first dose,88.4 per cent have received their second dose,53.5 per cent have received their third dose,and20 per cent have received their fourth dose, said Bowie.

Just over 1,100 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered in the past week, including 258 first doses, 132 second doses, 430 third doses and 292 fourth doses, he said.

New Brunswick has had75,152 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with73,614 cases now considered resolved.

Paxlovid eligibility expansion 'likely'

The province will "likely" make theantiviral COVID-19 treatment drug Paxlovid more widely available, Lger confirmed.

"The eligibility criteria [is] being reviewed with a potential for increasing eligibility," he said.

Paxlovid is currently available only to "people who are at high risk of serious illness," according to the province's COVID-19 website.

That includes people aged 80 or older and others who are "moderately to severely immunocompromised."

Earlier this week, CBC News reported a Saint John family was told by a Department of Health official last week that access to the drug would be broadened.

The departmentis consulting with variouspartners on eligibility,said Lger.

The criteria "will likely be expanded from what we currently have now," he said. "But again, what that looks like is, you know, is yet to be seen."

Paxlovid reduced the risk of hospitalization or death by89 per cent in non-hospitalizedhigh-risk adults with COVID-19, compared to a placebo during its clinical trial, according to Pfizer.

The drug must be taken within five days of the onset of symptoms.

Afull course of treatment consists of 30 pills over five days.

Hospital outbreaks, sick staff

The majority of the 71 Horizon hospitalizations, 45, are in the Fredericton region, Zone 3, according to the dashboard. The Monctonregion, Zone 1, has 13, theSaint John region, Zone 2, has eight, and the Miramichi region, Zone 7, has five.

Of the 28Vitalithospitalizations, 16 are at the Edmundston Regional Hospital, in Zone 4, six are at theDr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton, Zone 1, three are at theCampbellton Regional Hospital in Zone 5, two are at theChaleur Regional Hospital in Bathurst and one is atTracadie Hospital, both in Zone 6.

There are COVID-19 outbreaks on 17Horizon hospital units, downfrom22 last week. Six are in theMoncton region, Zone 1, three in the Saint John region, Zone 2, six in the Fredericton region, Zone 3, and two in the Miramichi region, Zone 7. No other details are provided.

Vitalithas outbreaks on five unitsattwo hospitals three at Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre (geriatric unit 3A, medicine and step-down unit 4C and nephrology 4F) and twoat the Edmundston Regional Hospital (extended care unit andmedical unit).

Horizon has 54staff off work after testing positive forCOVID-19,downfrom 99 the previous week.

Vitalithas 155 staff off work because of COVID-19, up from 138 in last week's report.

Overall capacity atVitalitis listed at 99 per cent, down from 100 per cent the previous week. Enfant-Jsus RHSJ Hospital in Caraquet has the highest bed occupancy at142 per cent, with no COVID patients. The highest bed occupancy at a hospital with COVID patients is Tracadie Hospital at 117 per cent with one COVID patient.

Horizon's dashboard does not include bed occupancy.