At least two more New Brunswickers have died from COVID-19, adding one between the ages of 20 and 44, while a child under the age of 4 is among the other 52 people hospitalized with or with the virus, according to the province’s latest weekly. figures released on Wednesday.
COVID-19 activity remains moderate, according to the Respiratory Watch report for Oct. 29 to Nov. 4.
“All signals remained strong during the current reporting period. “
The other two people died in hospital the week under review. The other user was 65 years of age or older.
Only cases shown dying in the hospital are counted as COVID deaths, after the province defined it in September.
The death toll from the pandemic is no longer available; the virus has already killed at least 958 New Brunswickers.
The province’s “excess mortality” or “untimely mortality,” will likely increase by an estimated 20 per cent per week in the coming weeks, as people die from either acute COVID or the downstream consequences of past infections, according to Tara Moriarty, an infectious diseases researcher.
This means that New Brunswick will see about 20 percent more deaths per week than expected due to demographic factors, such as population expansion and aging.
“It’s still going to take at least six months before we see all the numbers come in, but right now [that’s what] the forecast is suggesting,” said Moriarty, co-founder of COVID-19 Resources Canada, a grassroots group of experts and community members that aims to provide logistic and scientific support to public health response efforts.
Hospitalizations decreased from 57 last week, but the number of people requiring intensive medical care increased from 4 to 4.
Other than the child, the hospitalized patients include nine people 45 to 64 years old, and 42 people 65 or older.
COVID-related hospitalizations in the province are hovering around $1 million a day, according to Moriarty, an associate professor at the University of Toronto.
Hospitalizations and ICU admissions in New Brunswick and across the country are about 12 times higher than the lowest point of the COVID outbreak, and about the same as this time last year, when they were “pretty high,” Moriarty said.
“We’re very concerned right now . . . because of the effect of those COVID surges on the fitness formula and fitness care of other people who also want it for all the non-COVID related reasons,” he said.
Eleven lab-confirmed COVID outbreaks have been declared, according to the province — four of them in nursing homes and seven in “other facilities,” which could include adult residential homes and correctional centres.
A total of 114 new COVID cases were shown through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) laboratory tests, up from 128, according to the Respiratory Surveillance report.
The positivity rate (the overall percentage of lab PCR tests performed that produced a result) is 12%, up from 14%.
Moriarty estimates that about one in 30 New Brunswickers have recently contracted COVID.
That’s less than the estimate of one in 17 people, from Nov. 4 to Nov. 17.
“We think it’s getting better, based on what we can see in test and wastewater positivity rates,” Moriarty said.
But New Brunswick still “isn’t doing very well right now,” he said.
The national average for the period from Nov. 4 to Nov. 17 is about one in every 23 Canadians infected.
The province’s threat index for this time tied with Ontario for the third highest in the country at 20. 9. Only Saskatchewan and Newfoundland were worse, at 21. 0 and 21. 6, respectively, according to their group’s website.
“Many” infections are being acquired in hospitals or physical care facilities, which are known across the country, Moriarty said.
“It’s very vital to have as much coverage as you can imagine in hospitals because the other people who are there, by definition, are in poor health or are undergoing surgery and are more vulnerable, you know, to the consequences of an infection like COVID-19,” he said. saying.
Studies conducted in other countries suggest consistent masking is one way to reduce in-hospital transmission, said Moriarty.
Another solution is the admission of all, which the highest jurisdictions have abandoned.
“We want to protect other people in those settings and recognize that, you know, a COVID infection for a user who is hospitalized can mean death, or it can mean that it takes them a long time to recover and possibly never go back to their normal life. talents and, you know, the qualifications and purposes of daily life that they had before they got sick. “
Moriarty encourages those eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Don’t delay, come in, get it now because there are a lot of infections right now and you don’t want to end up in the hospital and you don’t want to be hospitalized when so many other people want to be hospitalized at the same time. ,” she said.
A total of 77,545 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since October 4, according to figures from the Ministry of Health.
Moriarty also recommends wearing well-fitted masks indoors, avoiding non-essential indoor gatherings or moving them outdoors, and staying home when sick.
“They’re not consistent with the effect, but if we layer them . . . you can reduce the risk of getting inflamed,” he said, noting that 30 per cent of Canadians over the age of 65 and older probably wouldn’t have become inflamed yet. about seroprevalence data from the COVID Immunity Task Force, or the consistent percentage of people who have antibodies in their blood to the virus that causes COVID-19.
This age group is considered at greater risk and “generally have been taking more precautions,” she said.
CBC has requested an interview with outgoing Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Schoenstatt. Jennifer Russell, or some other public health official. In an emailed response, Department of Health spokesman Sean Hatchard said, “When there is something new or noteworthy to share with the public, or if your recommendation or guidance to the public were to change, Public Health ensures that staff will be available to provide information to the media. This could come with an interview or a statement, depending on the individual situation.
Horizon Health Network had 62 COVID patients hospitalized as of Nov. 11, according to its COVID-19 dashboard. That’s a 36% reduction from the other 97 people hospitalized for or with the virus last week.
Three of the patients require intensive care, compared with six.
Fewer Horizon fitness staff are out of work after testing positive for the virus: 20 vs. 34 inflamed staff members were absent the previous week.
There are also COVID outbreaks at fewer Horizon hospitals than a week ago. The current hospital unit outbreaks, as of Tuesday, include:
Vitalité Health Network is updating its COVID-19 report only monthly, with the next update not expected until Nov. 27.
However, it updated its page on COVID outbreaks and reported two outbreaks on Tuesday, instead of one. These come with the medical unit of the Tracadie Hospital and the nephrology unit (4F) of the Dr. Georges-L. -Dumont University. Hospital Center.
Four new cases of influenza were detected through laboratory tests.
Eighteen cases have been reported since the breathing season began on August 27.
According to the Ministry of Health, a total of 112,695 people have been vaccinated against the flu since October 4.
With reporting from Morning Moncton and Fredericton
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