The province has announced ten more Nova Scotians have passed away due to COVID-19.
It released its weekly data report on Thursday for the seven-day period ending June 13th.
The number of new deaths is down from previous weeks as are hospitalizations with 28 people receiving care.
However, the province says the numbers for newly reported infections are higher this week most likely due to a change in reporting by including reinfections.
“Reinfections were not previously included in data reports because the number was small,” a news release says. “But with the emergence of the Omicron variant, reinfections have become more frequent, and that is why Nova Scotia will now include them in the reported lab-confirmed cases.”
The province is reporting 1,950 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19.
“Since the beginning of the Omicron wave, there have been 215 people who have tested positive 90 days or more after a previous positive PCR test result,” says Dr. Shelley Deeks, Nova Scotia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health. “At this point, many Nova Scotians have tested positive for COVID-19, so the chances of reinfection become more probable; that is why we have shifted our reporting to include the number of reinfections in our weekly case count.”
People 70 years of age and older continue to be at the highest risk of severe outcomes from COVID-19.
