N.S. reports 5 deaths in weekly COVID-19 update

Nova Scotia is reporting five new COVID-19 deaths for theseven-day period ending Monday.

In its weekly update on Thursday, the province reported a daily average of 249 new cases for the week of Aug. 2 to Aug. 8.

According to Nova Scotia Health, there were316 patients in hospitals across the provincepositive for COVID-19 an increase ofnearly 12 per cent compared to last week. That number includes:

• 46 patients admitted for treatment of COVID-19 symptoms (sevenin ICU).
• 163patients admitted for treatment ofanother health issue but tested positive forCOVID-19.
• 107 patientswho contracted COVID-19 after admission to hospital.

There were fewer than five childrenadmitted to the IWK hospital due to COVID-19 symptoms as of Thursday. The IWK reported 65 staffoff work and 17 isolating.

Nova Scotia Health reported 241employees off work on Thursdaydue to being diagnosed as positive for COVID-19, awaiting results of a COVID-19 test,or being exposed to a member of their household who tested positive for COVID-19.

Canada's public health officials have warned of an increase in hospitalizations as the highly transmissibleOmicron subvariant BA.5 circulates around the globewhile provinces have lifted mask mandates and ended other measures.

Nova Scotia had a total of 1,741lab-confirmed cases in its latest update to the provincial dashboard.

On July 6, the province limited who can access to PCR tests to select groups who are symptomatic, including people over 50, front-line health care workers and immunocompromised people. People who test positive on a rapid test can no longer have their result confirmed via a PCR test.

Patients sick with COVID-19 who are admitted to hospital in Nova Scotia are no longer being treated separately from patients who don't have it.

Since March 2020, there have been 473 COVID-19 deaths in Nova Scotia.