Nova Scotia reports no new deaths from COVID-19 over a seven-day period for the first time since Jan. 3.
In its weekly update Thursday, the province reported a daily average of 240 new cases for the week of July 26-Aug. 1.
As of Thursday, there were 283 patients in hospitals across the province who tested positive for COVID-19, according to Nova Scotia Health. This number includes:
- 33 patients admitted for treatment of symptoms of COVID-19 (8 in the ICU).
- 148 patients admitted to treat another health problem but tested positive for COVID-19.
- 102 patients who contracted COVID-19 after hospital admission.
As of Thursday, there were fewer than five children admitted to IWK Hospital due to symptoms of COVID-19. The IWK reported that 72 staff were absent from work and 15 were self-isolating.
Nova Scotia Health reported Thursday that 221 employees were off the job either to be diagnosed as positive for COVID-19, awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test, or to have been exposed to a household member who tested positive for COVID-19.
Public health officials in Canada have warned of an increase in hospitalizations as the highly transmissible Omicron BA.5 subvariant circulates around the world while provinces have lifted mask mandates and ended measures aimed at contain the spread of the virus.
Laboratory confirmed cases exceed 1,600
Nova Scotia had a total of 1,683 laboratory-confirmed cases in its last update to the provincial dashboard.
On July 6, the province limited who can access PCR tests to select groups with symptoms, such as people over 50, frontline health workers and immunocompromised people. People who test positive in a rapid test can no longer have their result confirmed by a PCR test.
Since March 2020, there have been 468 deaths from COVID-19 in Nova Scotia. About three-quarters of these deaths occurred during the Omicron wave, which began on December 8, 2021.