N.S. reports 3 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, province shifting to weekly reports

Nova Scotia reported three deaths related toCOVID-19 onThursday as the province preparesto shift from daily to weekly reporting of pandemic-related numbers.

The deaths include two men in their 70s in the eastern zone and a man in his 80s in the central zone. Therewere 46 people in designated COVID-19 hospital units,including 12in ICU.

The province ison track to lift all remaining COVID-19 restrictions by March 21, just a day shy of the two-year anniversary of Nova Scotia declaring a state of emergency tocontain the pandemic.

Premier Tim Houston said Nova Scotiansshould continue to stay vigilant as the province reopens.

"As we lift restrictions and continue to reopen, we must not forget that this virus is still circulating in our communities," Houston said in a news release.

"That is why it is so important Nova Scotians follow both the letter and the spirit of the public health measures to protect ourselves and others from this virus."

The province said it would issueits next update on COVID-19 and update its dashboard on March 10.

Patients aged 5 to 92

The age range of those in hospital Thursday was fiveto 92, with a median age of 62.

Of those in hospital:

• 14 (30.4 per cent)people have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
• 21 (45.7 per cent)were fully vaccinated (two doses).
• 1 (2.2 per cent) waspartially vaccinated.
• 10 (21.7 per cent)were unvaccinated.

As of March 2, about 7.9 per cent of Nova Scotia'spopulation remained unvaccinated. The province said92.1 per cent of Nova Scotians hadreceived at least their first dose, and 86.8per cent had received their second dose.

COVID-19 hospitalizations and death rates

Unvaccinated Nova Scotianswereabout 5times more likely to be hospitalized due to COVID-19 than someone with two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. That wasbased on average hospitalizations since the province started releasing daily hospitalization numbers by vaccine status on Jan. 4.

Unvaccinated people were about 4 times as likely to die of COVID-19 during the Omicron waveas someone who received a booster dose, based on numbers provided by the province and last updated on Feb. 25.

Rapid tests in Windsor

Nova Scotia Health saidpeople in the Windsor area who qualify for rapid testing wouldbe able to pick up test kits from the Hants Community Hospital once they complete an online assessment and book anappointment.

Test kits would be available for those who are eligibleat the main entrance of the hospitalMonday to Friday from2 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. local time, andSaturday and Sunday from10:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.

New cases reported

Nova Scotia Health completed2,007 tests on March 2.

An additional 421 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 were reported Thursday,with143 cases in the central zone, 88cases in the eastern zone, 105cases in the northern zone and 85cases in the western zone.

There were an estimated 2,514 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia.

The province noted there would be an increase in new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported becausepeople with positive rapid tests are to get a confirmatory PCR test.