NS Prime Minister hopes to start easing COVID-19 restrictions in February – Halifax | The Canadian News

COVID-19 restrictions in Nova Scotia will be in place for at least the rest of January, but the county hopes to lift some of the rules next month, Prime Minister Tim Houston announced Wednesday.

It came when the province announced three new deaths due to the virus: a woman and a man, both in their 80s, in the Central Zone and a man in his 90s in the Eastern Zone.

Since Saturday, there have been a total of 13 deaths related to the virus, five of which were reported on a single day on Tuesday.

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During a news conference, Houston noted the “significant loss of life” and said the number of hospitalizations in the province continues to underscore the system.

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“There’s still a way to relax restrictions, but it’s a road that extends beyond Jan. 31,” Houston said.


Click to play video: 'COVID-19: Nova Scotia extends restrictions by 2 weeks, says premier'



COVID-19: Nova Scotia extends restrictions by 2 weeks, says premier


COVID-19: Nova Scotia extends restrictions by 2 weeks, says premier

While many of the restrictions will remain in place until Feb. 14, Houston said he wants to relax certain restrictions in arts, culture and sports around Feb. 7.

Houston said he hopes to have sports practice back by Feb. 7 and games back by Feb. 14, though probably without spectators.

“But these are just goals and we need to look at what happens between now and then,” he said.

Hospitalizations

The province reported 16 new hospitalizations and five discharges on Wednesday. There are now 91 people in the hospital who have been admitted due to COVID-19, including 15 in ICU.

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The age group of those in the hospital is between six and 100 years old, with an average age of 67 and an average stay of 7.3 days.

Of the 91 in the hospital, 18 had a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, 53 had two doses, three were partially vaccinated and 17 were not vaccinated.

“It is important to note that less than 10 percent of Nova Scotians are unvaccinated,” the province said in a release issued shortly before the news conference.

There are an additional 100 people who were hospitalized for non-COVID reasons and later found positive, or who were admitted due to COVID-19 but no longer need specialized care.

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Another 121 people contracted COVID-19 after being admitted to hospital for another reason.

Houston said the relaxation of restrictions is based on a number of factors, but the most important is the amount of stress on the health care system and the success of the booster program.

“While the hospitalization situation needs to be closely monitored, the drive’s success is something we can all be encouraged to do,” Houston said, noting that the county is on track for a total of 485,000 booster doses by the end of the month. . He said for those 18 and older, 56.9 percent had already received their booster or booked their shot.

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The release said an additional 346 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being reported, out of 3,602 tests completed Tuesday. There are 164 cases in the Central Zone, 56 in the Eastern Zone, 35 in the Northern Zone and 91 in the Western Zone.

There are an estimated 4,353 active cases in Nova Scotia.

‘Not out of this wave yet’

During the information session, dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, noted that most Nova Scotians who died during the Omicron Gulf were mainly elderly people with underlying health conditions.

“It does not mean we do not have to be careful. Just the opposite, ”he said. “The elderly in our communities must be valued and protected by the rest of us.”

However, the doctor said there was “reason to be optimistic”, thanks to the province’s high vaccination rates and the “hard work of Nova Scotians”.

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“Keeping restrictions in place a little longer should give more time for things to keep going downwards and to help ease the pressure on the healthcare system,” Strang said.

“To remain cautious, we all allow optimism as we move through winter and closer to spring.”

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He said evidence around the world shows that although the COVID-19 vaccine has a “modest impact” in stopping the spread of the Omicron variant, it is extremely effective in reducing serious outcomes such as hospitalization or death.

Strang said about seven percent of Nova Scotians, or about 72,000 people, are eligible for the vaccine but have not received it. That seven percent is responsible for 21 percent of hospitalizations and 30 percent of deaths since Dec. 8, he said.

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“This significantly greater risk for unvaccinated people to become seriously ill and die has been seen across the country and the world,” Strang said.

“Think of it as riding a motorcycle. If you wear a good helmet and protective clothing, you can still get hurt when you crash, but you get much less hurt than when you wear shorts and sandals. ”

The doctor also said that the province is apparently past its peak for new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19, and since hospitalizations tend to come a few weeks after cases, the province is probably “right within the peak of cases. in the hospital. ”

Yet Strang demanded caution in the coming days and weeks. “We are not out of this wave yet,” he said.

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Hospital outbreaks

The province also reported COVID-19 outbreaks at the Halifax Infirmary site and the Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Center, as well as at the Digby General Hospital. Less than five patients tested positive at each facility.

There are also additional cases for the following outbreaks:

  • One additional patient in a ward at Cape Breton Regional Hospital; less than 10 patients tested positive
  • One additional patient in a ward at the Abbie J. Lane Memorial Building of the QEII Health Sciences Center; less than 10 patients tested positive.

The province also reported two more COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities on Tuesday, in addition to the outbreak in Northwood that was reported Monday.

Two residents and one staff member tested positive at Villa Acadienne in Meteghan and two staff members tested positive at My Cape Breton Home for Seniors (Westmount) in the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

Also on Tuesday, public health also announced that Nova Scotia now has 900 treatments of Pfizer’s Paxlovid drug on hand. The oral pill is used to treat those with mild COVID-19 symptoms to prevent worse illnesses and hospitalization.

More to come.

– With files by Alicia Draus and Karla Renic

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