Nova Scotia reports 13 deaths caused by COVID-19 during the seven-day period ending 23 May.
Nova Scotia Health Authority Laboratories confirmed 1,584 new cases of the virus that week, an average of 226 new cases a day, according to a provincial press release on Thursday.
There were 40 new hospitalizations as a result of the virus during this seven-day period.
The number of new cases continues to decline, along with the number of hospitalizations, according to the statement.
The province said hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are almost 11 times higher and the risk of death is 114 times higher, for people 70 years or older compared to younger people.
A health authority press release on Thursday said 287 people currently hospitalized have COVID-19.
- 33 people are in hospital due to COVID-19, including eight in intensive care.
- 171 people are in the hospital for something else but they have COVID-19.
- 83 people contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.
IWK Health Center hospitalization numbers are not included in Nova Scotia health figures. CBC News has requested numbers from this facility and is awaiting a response.
The number of health authority staff was not included due to a technical issue, a statement said.
Dr. Lisa Barrett, an infectious disease expert, said the current wave of COVID-19 appears to be receding. However, he said that it seems that fewer people are wearing masks and that meetings have increased, so the wave is taking a long time to finish.
He said that Public Health continues to recommend that masks be worn indoors after the mask mandate was lifted in schools this week.
“We hope most of these kids still wear masks in these indoor spaces for the rest of the school year,” Barrett said.
No briefing
For the first time in many weeks the province did not hold a teleconference to address the latest figures and answer questions from members of the media.
Following the launch of an affordable housing initiative in New Glasgow on Thursday, Prime Minister Tim Houston indicated that the province plans to end COVID-19 briefings.
“I feel very strongly that Nova Scotians have the tools they need to keep themselves and their families safe,” Houston said. “The reality is that we are moving to a different stage of the pandemic and we are moving forward.”
Thursday’s press release also indicated that the province’s public COVID-19 online dashboard will continue to be updated until the end of June.
Liberal leader Iain Rankin said there was “really no problem” in holding public conferences.
“I don’t understand why they would completely withdraw from this public liability measure,” Rankin said.
“If he’s not the prime minister, at least he could be made available to the health minister or other public officials, and it doesn’t have to be weekly.”
The province is encouraging people to get vaccinated if they have not already done so. Those aged 70 or over are recommended to receive a second booster dose.
According to the province, 65.6% of Nova Scotians aged 18 and over have received at least one booster injection and 59,631 people have had a second booster injection.
The province said unvaccinated people are at the highest risk of serious illness.
Since the start of the Omicron wave in Nova Scotia on December 8, 2021:
- The mean age of PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases is 43 years.
- The average age of hospitalization is 71 years.
- The average age of reported deaths is 81 years.