However, there are actually 192 COVID-related hospitalizations across the province, according to data released Tuesday by the Horizon and Vitalité health networks. This is from 178 last week. Unlike the province’s new COVIDWATCH website, which only includes people who are being treated for COVID, not people who were initially hospitalized for another cause and later tested positive for the virus, Horizon and Vitalité have released their own COVID control panels. 19, which include both. And unlike the government’s replacement for the COVID-19 control panel, which includes weekly data until last Saturday, their data is current from Tuesday and Monday respectively. Horizon has 119 patients with COVID, 10 of whom need intensive care. Vitalité has 73 patients treated for COVID, including 10 in the ICU. The latest update comes about a month after the province lifted all remaining COVID-19 restrictions, such as coverage and mandatory isolation for people infected with the virus. At that time, 103 people were hospitalized. The province is now facing the threat of a sixth wave that could be fueled by a new sub-variant of Omicron called Omicron XE, which is a combination of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2. It is 10 percent more contagious than BA2, which is 60 percent more contagious than BA1, said General Manager Dr. Jennifer Russell.

The deaths included two 40-year-olds

COVID-19-related deaths include those where COVID-19 was a “primary or contributing factor to the cause of death according to the treating physician,” according to the provincial website. The county no longer provides information on new COVID-related deaths, such as their age groups or in which health areas they lived. But a comparison of this week’s report with last week reveals that the latest deaths include two people aged 40, four in their 80s and four in their 90s or older. Five of the deaths occurred in Moncton, Zone 1, two in Fredericton, Zone 3, and the other three in Bathurst, Zone 6. The latest death toll from the province’s pandemic has risen to 368. COVIDWATCH, the government’s replacement for the COVID-19 control panel, shows only people who are being treated for COVID-19, not people who are initially admitted for another reason and later tested positive for the virus. (New Brunswick Government)
The moving average of hospitalizations for COVID-19, including seven-day ICU admissions, jumped from 78 to 68, according to the county website. The number of patients on respirators is no longer provided by Public Health. A child under the age of 10 is among the patients, according to the data. Those in the ICU include three in their 50s, one in their 60s, three in their 70s and one in their 80s. “There has been a decrease in the number of hospital admissions for COVID-19 this week (41) compared to last week (78),” the government said in a statement. The highest incidence of COVID-19 is among people aged 60-79, he says. “People who are unprotected by the vaccine continue to have the highest incidence of COVID-19 and death.” The province defines unprotected as fully vaccinated over six months, partially vaccinated and unvaccinated.

Case analysis

A total of 7,734 new cases of COVID were recorded last week. This includes 3,962 people who tested positive for PCR and 3,772 people who tested positive for rapid tests. Based on PCR tests alone, there are now 5,721 active cases across the province. The regional distribution of new and active cases includes:

Moncton Region, Zone 1 – 1,301 new PCR-confirmed cases, 1,304 new rapid test cases and 1,885 active cases Saint John District, Zone 2 – 768 new PCR confirmed cases, 796 new rapid test cases and 1,153 active cases Fredericton Region, Zone 3 – 798 new PCR confirmed cases, 858 new rapid test cases and 1,074 active cases Edmundston area, Zone 4 – 281 new PCR-confirmed cases, 141 new rapid test cases and 371 active cases Campbellton area, Zone 5 – 158 new PCR-confirmed cases, 86 new rapid test cases and 253 active cases Bathurst Area, Zone 6 – 469 new PCR-confirmed cases, 390 new rapid test cases and 682 active cases Miramichi Area, Zone 7 – 187 new PCR-confirmed cases, 197 new rapid test cases and 303 active cases

A total of 793,484 PCR tests have been performed to date, including 10,888 since the last report. A total of 58,431 rapid tests have been self-reported. According to the website, 51.6 percent of New Brunswicker eligible residents have now received the booster dose of COVID-19, up from 51.4 percent a week ago, 87.7 percent have taken two doses, of 87.6 percent and 93 percent have received their first dose, unchanged. New Brunswick has had 55,812 confirmed cases since the beginning of the pandemic with 49,723 recurrences, now described as “resolved” cases so far.

At least 539 health workers out of work

Horizon has 205 employees in the healthcare sector after testing positive for COVID-19. The number of workers isolated due to close contact with a positive case is not available, said spokesman Chris McDavid. Vitalité has 248 infected staff out of work, according to the control panel. Another 86 have been fired for contact with a positive case, pushing total absences to 334. This is reduced from 340 and 125 respectively. There are active cases of COVID-19 in 30 units in 11 hospitals throughout the province. These include two new cases in the Campbellton Regional Hospital geriatric unit and the veterans’ unit, the Vitalité dashboard shows. Other Vitalité COVID cases include: Zone 1, Moncton area

University Hospital Center Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont – Medical and Degrading Unit 4C Veterans Health Center – Unit 200 and Unit 300

Zone 4, Edmundston area Zone 6, Bathurst area

Chaleur Regional Hospital – medical unit (2nd West) and geriatric unit (4th West) Tracadie Hospital – medical unit

Visits by designated support staff to these units are temporarily suspended. “Some exceptions may be possible and will be granted on a case-by-case basis,” the website said. Horizon hospitals with COVID outbreaks include: Moncton Hospital

Unit of medicine / recovery, Unit 5200 Cardiac Care Unit, Unit 3400 Family Medicine / Palliative Care Unit, Unit 3600 Stroke unit, Unit 4600 Rehabilitation unit, Unit 4400 Medical intensive care unit Surgical unit, Unit 5600

Agios Ioannis Regional Hospital

Transitional Care Unit, 4AN Family Medicine Unit, 5CN General Surgery Unit, 3CN Internal Medicine Unit, 4CN Family Medicine Unit, 5CS Oncology Unit, 5AS Palliative Care Unit, 3BN

Regional Hospital Dr. Everett Chalmers

Transitional Care Unit, 4E Surgical / orthopedic unit, 4NE Medical unit, 4BD Medical unit, 3E Surgical unit, 4SW

Charlotte County Hospital

Family Medicine Unit, 1st floor

Oromocto Public Hospital Hospital occupancy across Vitalité stood at 92 percent, up from 103 percent last week. Horizon occupancy ranges from a low of 67 percent at Miramichi Regional Hospital to a high of 94 percent at Saint John Regional Hospital.