Hospitalizations and deaths attributed to COVID-19 continue to fall in New Brunswick, but one expert says a new Omicron subvariant is worrisome.
New Brunswick Public Health released its weekly COVID update on Tuesday, showing that three people died between May 22 and 28, below the five people who died from the disease the week before.
COVID hospitalizations across the province also dropped from 27 to 25, along with the number of positive PCR tests from 768 to 554.
Although the dominant strain of COVID-19 in New Brunswick is the BA.2 Omicron subvariant, the BA.4 subvariant has been on the rise since it was first detected in the province in early May.
Infection control epidemiologist Colin Furness says early indications that COVID-19’s BA.4 Omicron subvariant can prevent immunity from recent infection are worrisome. (Dale Molnar / CBC)
With signs that it is able to prevent acquired immunity from previous COVID infection and vaccination, it could reinfect those who recently had the disease, putting continued strain on the health care system, said Colin Furness, an infection control epidemiologist. in Toronto.
“I think people who might think, ‘Hey, I had COVID a few months ago, I’m fine, I’m sure, I went out with his, it’s super,’ I’d say no, no, that wasn’t ours. experience lived here, “Furness said in an interview with Information Morning.
“And that’s not what we’ve seen: it can be reinfected quite easily and that’s worrisome.”
Earlier this month, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control upgraded Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants to worrying variants.
In a press release, the organization said that the observed growth of the two subvariants is “probably due to their ability to evade immune protection induced by a previous infection and / or vaccination, especially if this has diminished over time. “.
The center notes that there is currently no indication of any change in the severity of BA.4 or BA.5 compared to previous Omicron subvariants.
Continued caution is required
New Brunswick has detected 24 cases of the BA.4 Omicron subvariant, Dr. Yves Léger, the province’s acting deputy medical director of health, said in an interview with Shift.
Léger said evidence suggests it could be more transmissible than other variants, though it does not appear to be more serious.
In light of the new subvariant, Léger said, people must continue to follow measures “that we have done very well over the last two years that we know can protect us, including making sure we are up to date with our vaccines.” . “
New Brunswick has reported 24 cases of COVID-19’s BA.4 Omicron subvariant, said Dr. Yves Léger, Acting Deputy Chief Medical Officer. (Shane Magee / CBC)
He did not stop urging people to wear masks inside, which was one of the health measures his office recommended to the provincial government as part of its end of all protections on March 14th.
However, he expressed concern that New Brunswickers seemed to be taking fewer precautions against COVID-19.
“Certainly, you know, when people hear that, you know, things are getting better, that, you know, we’re coming out of our fifth wave, that the mandatory measures, you know, have been lifted … always there there is a concern that people are interpreting it to think that, you know, COVID is no longer really anything that should worry us, “he said.
“And that is certainly not the truth. You know, COVID is still between us and, you know, we need to keep planning for times when, as you know, there will be additional waves and so the risk will be greater.
“And so, you know, we have to be even more careful, but certainly, you know, we want to make sure that people understand that, you know, COVID is not a benign infection. It’s not just a cold. That’s a lot more than that, and you know, people have to keep doing these things to protect themselves. “
More COVID numbers
According to New Brunswick Public Health, two people are in a hospital’s intensive care unit, which has not changed from the previous reporting period.
There are 865 active cases of COVID in the province that were confirmed by PCR tests.
They include 209 in Zone 1 (Moncton Region), 176 in Zone 2 (Saint John Region), 285 in Zone 3 (Fredericton Region), 33 in Zone 4 (Edmundston Region) , 13 in Zone 5 (Campbellton region). region), 119 in Zone 6 (Bathust region) and 30 in Zone 7 (Miramichi region).
There were 865 active cases of COVID-19 confirmed by PCR tests in New Brunswick on May 28, according to Public Health. (New Brunswick Government)
The two regional health authorities in the province also released their own weekly statistics on Tuesday on the impacts of COVID-19 on their facilities and staff.
While Public Health only reports people admitted to hospital by COVID, health authorities include people who were admitted to hospital for other reasons before testing positive.
The Horizon Health Network reports a drop of more than half in the number of people hospitalized for the disease, from 75 active admissions to 30 last Saturday, including two in intensive care.
A total of four hospital units are under declared outbreaks and 34 staff members are on sick leave due to the positive test.
Vitalité Health Network saw an increase in the number of hospitalizations related to COVID-19 to 29, from 21 to 29 on Saturday, including four in intensive care.
The declared outbreaks are active in two units of Tracadie Hospital, three in the University Hospital Center Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont, one at Edmundston Regional Hospital and another at the Campbellton Regional Addiction Services Center.