N.B. COVID-19 roundup: 4 more deaths, nursing homes still struggling with Omicron outbreaks

Four more New Brunswickers who had COVID-19 have died, and the head of the New Brunswick Association of Nursing Homes says the virus is spreading faster than ever before in homes across the province.

The deaths include a person in their 80s in the Saint John region, Zone 2, a person in their 80s in the Bathurst region, Zone 6, and two people in their 90s in the Miramichi region, Zone 7, according to the COVID dashboard.

No other information about them, including whether they died from COVID or just had COVID when they died, their vaccination status or any underlying health conditions have been released.

Their deaths mark54 in14 days,sincethe province returned to Level 2 from the most restrictive Level 3, and 282 since the beginning of the pandemic.

70 ill at Saint John's Rocmaura home

Michael Keating, the interim CEO of the nursing homes association, says the Omicron variant may be milder than previous waves, but it's more contagious, and it's taking a big toll.

He points to one large nursing home, where nearly half of all residents have the virus.

"In Saint John, at Rocmaura[Nursing Home], there are upwards of 70 residents that are ill," Keating said. "To my knowledge, there's only one who has passed.

"And the other hit, of course, is that the employees are getting sick and they can't come to work, which is putting extreme stress on the other people who are working."

Keating said about half the staff at Rocmauraare currently off work because ofCOVID.

Nursing homes "got hit pretty hard" with the Delta variant, said Keating, noting more than 20 lives were lost.

The "saving grace" with theOmicron variant is that it's not taking as many lives and the residents are not getting as ill, he said.

Outbreaks at 65 long-term care homes

As of Friday, there are 65 COVID outbreaks at long-term care homes across the province, including 16 nursing homes, according to the Department of Social Development.

A total of 1,529people are infected 938 residents and591 staff, said department spokesperson Rebecca Howland.

That's up from 47 outbreaksand541 people infected just thee weeks ago.

At nursing homes, there are 346residents with COVID and 405 staff, Howland said in an emailed statement.

Nineteen people have died during this fifth wave, which began last month,including six at nursing homes, she said.

The names and locations ofthe homeshavenot been released.

"Due to confidentiality concerns, we can't say much about specific situations at facilities," Howland said.

There are about 71 nursing homes in the province.

The other affected long-term care homesinclude special care homes, memory care homes, generalist care homes, homeless shelters, transition houses and community residences.

"The Social Development COVID Response Team has been assisting homes by providing resources, infection prevention and control support, PPE[personal protective equipment], as well as guidance throughout these responses under the direction of Public Health," she said.

"The department's COVID Response Team co-ordinates supports, such as additional cleaning, meal services, and supplies, as well as supplemental staff."

As of Friday, 96.8 per cent of residents in long-term care have received two vaccine doses, said Howland.

She could not immediately say what the booster rate isbut did say all eligible residents were offered boosters during the booster immunization clinics in long-term care facilities last November.

"Boosters will continue to be offered as more residents become eligible to ensure that all residents are up to date on their vaccinations," she added.

There are about540 long-term care homes across the province with roughly 12,000 residents andclose to 13,000 staff.

135 people in hospital, including five 19 or under

The number of people in hospital decreased by five Friday to 135, including 13 people in intensive care, down two. Eight of them are on ventilators, unchanged.

Of those in hospital, 62 of them were admittedfor COVID-19, while the other 73 were originally admitted for something else when they tested positive for the virus, according tothe dashboard.

Five people 19 or under are hospitalized. Three people in their 40s are the youngest requiring intensive care.

The seven-day average of hospitalizations decreased again to 148 from 152, while the seven-day average of the number of people in intensive care remained steady for a seventh straight day at 16.

The key metric the province uses to assess whether to tighten or loosen restrictionstheseven-day average of new daily hospital admissionsis still not available to the public.

Overall hospital occupancy across the province is listed at 90 per cent, while ICU capacity is at 80 per cent.

The number of health-care workers off work with COVIDincreased by 20 to 341. These include 168 from the Horizon Health Network, 129 fromthe Vitalit Health Network and 44 fromExtra-Mural/Ambulance New Brunswick.

Through PCR (polymerase chain reaction) labtests, Public Health has confirmed 359 new cases of COVID,putting the province's active case count at 3,594, an increase of 198from Thursday.

An additional 568 people self-reported testing positive on rapid tests.

The regional breakdown of PCR-confirmed cases includes:

Moncton region, Zone 1

• 106 new cases and 1,258 active cases

Saint John region, Zone 2

• 79 new cases and 765active cases

Fredericton region, Zone 3

• 63 new cases and 617active cases

Edmundston region, Zone 4

• 53 new cases and 355active cases

Campbellton region, Zone 5

• 11 new cases and 105 active cases

Bathurst region, Zone 5

• 39 new cases and 333active cases

Miramichi region, Zone 7

• Eight cases and 161 active cases

A total of706,833PCR tests have been conducted to date, including 1,766 on Thursday.

As of Friday, 47.3per cent of eligible New Brunswickers have received their booster shot, up from 47per cent, 85.8 per cent have received two doses of a vaccine, up from 85.7 per cent, and 92.5 per cent have received one dose, unchanged.

When it comes to total population, New Brunswick has higher boosted and fully vaccinated rates than the national averages, according toCBC's Vaccine Tracker.

Forty-five per cent of the total population has had a booster shot, compared to 43.5 per cent across Canada.

Nova Scotia is leading the country at 48.3 per cent, followed byQuebec, 45.9 per cent;B.C., 45.4 per cent;and Ontario, 45.2 per cent. Newfoundland has the lowest rate at 26 per cent, according to the website.

Meanwhile, 81.6 per cent of New Brunswick's total population have had two doses, while the national rate is 79.6 per cent.

Newfoundland claims top spotin this category, at 89.4 per cent, followed by P.E.I., 84.7 per cent; Northwest Territories, 84.6 per cent; Nova Scotia, 82.4 per cent; and the Yukon at 81.8 per cent. Nunavut is lowest at 67.6 per cent.

Since Dec. 1, about 61 per cent of New Brunswick's COVID-related hospitalizations, 71 per cent of ICU admissions and more than 78 per cent of those on ventilators had"partial or no protection," meaning they were fully vaccinated for more than six months, partially vaccinated or unvaccinated.

The rest were "protected,"meaning they were boosted or fully vaccinated for less than six months.

Of the COVID-related deaths during that same period, about 54 per cent had partial or no protection.

New Brunswick has had 32,307cases of COVID to date, with 28,429 recoveries so far.

More than 1,500 school cases reported in 1 week

More than 1,500 cases of COVID-19 have been reported at New Brunswick schoolsin the past week, according to figures from the Department of Education.

That's more than a third of the total number of cases since the beginning of the school year.

The actual number is likely higher since the department now relies on self-reported data.

The cases include both students and staff. No breakdown is provided on the department's website.

As of Friday, there have been 4,527cases of COVID at schools since Sept. 7.

That's up from 4,086 on Thursday, 3,866 on Wednesday, 3,250 on Tuesday, and 2,980 on Mondaya difference of 1,547.

The regional breakdown of the cases reported Friday include:

• Moncton region, Zone 1- 121
• Saint John region, Zone 2- 77
• Fredericton region, Zone 3 - 94
• Edmundston region, Zone 4 - 17
• Campbellton region, Zone 5 - 19
• Bathurst region, Zone 6 - 41
• Miramichi region, Zone 7 - 38

This totals only 407, less than the overall daily increase of 441. Department spokesperson Danielle Elliott said the overall totals are the most accurate figures. Because cases are self-reported, there can be delays, and they may not all be reflected in the daily regional snapshots, she said.

All but four of the province's 294 schools have now been affected, according to the website.

Students only resumed in-person learningon Jan. 31 for the first time since before the holiday break.