N.S. reports no new COVID-19 deaths in a week for first time since January

Nova Scotia is reporting no new COVID-19 deaths for a seven-day period for the first time since Jan. 3.

In its weekly update on Thursday, the province reported a daily average of 240 new cases for the week of July 26-Aug. 1.

As of Thursday, there were283 patients in hospitals across the provincepositive for COVID-19, according to Nova Scotia Health. That number includes:

• 33 patients admitted for treatment of COVID-19 symptoms (8in ICU).
• 148 patients admitted for treatment ofanother health issue but tested positive forCOVID-19.
• 102 patientswho contracted COVID-19 after admission to hospital.

There werefewer than five children admitted to the IWK hospital due to COVID-19 symptoms as of Thursday. The IWK reported72 staffoff work and 15 isolating.

Nova Scotia Health reported 221 employees off work on Thursdaydue to being diagnosed as positive for COVID-19, awaiting results of a COVID-19 testor 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 measures meant to contain the spread of the virus.

Lab-confirmed cases top 1,600

Nova Scotia had a total of 1,683 lab-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.

Since March 2020, there have been 468COVID-19 deaths in Nova Scotia. About three-quarters of those deaths happened during the Omicron wave, which began Dec. 8, 2021.