No new deaths from COVID-19 in N.L. for 1st time in more than a month

For the first time in more than a month, Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting no new deaths from COVID-19.

The provincial Health Department on Monday reported 312 new cases of COVID-19 since Friday:137 on Saturday, 88 on Sunday and 87 on Monday. While the number of reported cases don't reflect of the true spread of COVID-19 because of provincial testing restrictions and a lack of data on how much testing is being done, the total number of deaths Monday remained unchanged at 157 the first time since March 22 that a provincial update didn't include at least two deaths.

Meanwhile, nearly half of all COVID-19 deaths in Newfoundland and Labrador were the result of outbreaks in hospitals and long-term care homes, according to data obtained by CBC News.

Numbers provided by the provincial Health Department show that of 157 deaths in the province since March 2020, 42 resulted from outbreaks in hospitals while 35 occurred in outbreaks at long-term care homes.

Earlier data showed 97 people have died in hospital after being admitted due to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic while 36 people died in long-term care or personal-care homes. The remaining were in palliative care or in private homes.

As of Monday, 24 people are in hospital due to the virus, down one since Friday, with fiveof them in critical care, down from seven on Friday.

As of Monday, 92.5 per cent of the eligible population that is five years old and older have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador