Nova Scotia reports first child death from COVID-19

Nova Scotia is reporting its first child death related to COVID-19.

In a news release on Friday, the province said a child between the ages of five and 11 had died.

"It is with deep sadness that we must report COVID has taken the life of a child in our province," said Premier Tim Houston in the release.

"The loss of a child is something that no family should ever have to endure. My condolences are with the family during this very difficult and tragic time."

Nova Scotia also reported 82people in designated COVID-19 units on Friday, including 11 in intensive care.

The age range for those currently in hospital is fourto 93years old. The medianage of those in hospital is 65and those in hospital stay for a median lengthof six days.

Since the Omicron wave began on Dec. 8, 58Nova Scotians have died because of COVID-19.

Of those in hospital:

• 23peoplehave had a third dose of vaccine.
• 28people are fully vaccinated with two doses.
• 0 people are partially vaccinated.
• 31people are unvaccinated.

Currently, unvaccinated Nova Scotiansare about 4times more likely to be hospitalized or die due to COVID-19 than someone with two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. That is based on average hospitalizations since the province started releasing daily hospitalization numbers by vaccine status on Jan. 4.

Unvaccinated people arealso more than seven times as likely to die of COVID-19 than someone who had received a booster dose.

"It is never easy reporting a death, especially when it is someone so young," said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Officer of Health in the news release.

"Today's death continues to highlight the seriousness of a disease that knows no bounds and the importance of getting vaccinated to protect yourself and those around you."

There aretwo other groups of people in hospital related to COVID-19:

• 129people who were identified as positive upon arrival at hospital but were admitted for another medical reason, or were admitted forCOVID-19but no longer require specialized care.
• 144people who contractedCOVID-19 after being admitted to hospital.

Number of cases

Nova Scotia labs completed 2,385 testson Thursdayand reported 389new lab-confirmed cases ofCOVID-19, including 162in the central zone, 48in the eastern zone, 79in the northern zone and 100in the western zone.

As of Friday, there were an estimated 3,153active cases ofCOVID-19 in Nova Scotia.

New online form for COVID-19 recovery letter requests

The province is still advising people to avoid unnecessarytravel. However,for those who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Nova Scotia andneed documentation for travel, the provincehas set up an online form to request a recovery letter.

The province cautions the letter is not an official public health record and is based on self-reported information so it may not be sufficient for some countries. The province said, despite the limitations, it's the only letter it canprovide.

"Some jurisdictions, including Canada, will not accept a recovery letter and as required to provide proof of a positive PCR test instead," reads the news release from the province.

For those requiring a negative PCR test for travel purposes,the province advises contacting a private testing company.