The Newfoundland and Labrador Health had 25 hospitalizations for COVID-19 over the first two weeks of this year, according to new numbers released Wednesday by the Provincial Health Department.
Of the 25 hospitalizations from Jan 1-14, three cases required critical care. Over the final 2 weeks of 2022, the province had 35 hospitalizations, including 5 in critical care.
The provincial government’s COVID-19 data hub says there were two deaths due to COVID-19 over the 2 weeks, but according to the regional and age break downs on the hub, there were actually 4 deaths.
According to the age breakdown, three of the deaths were people age 80 and up and one death was a person in their 50s. According to the breakdown by regional health authority, one death was in the Eastern Health area, one was in Central Health and two were in Western Health. CBC News has asked the provincial government to explain the discrepancy.
The data hub also said 24.2% of the province’s population is up to date on vaccinations, defined as having had their first two doses or a booster shot within the 6 months.
Residents between the age of 70 and 79 has the highest vaccination rate, at 56.2%, while children 6 months to 4 years have the lowest rate 6.4%, up from 5.3% since the last update.
The Health Department also reported 176 new COVID-19 cases from Jan1-14, but that number does not reflect the entirety of the pandemic cases in the province, as it represents only positive PCR tests completed by the health authorities and not rapid tests done by the public on their own.