2 new COVID-19 deaths in N.L. while hospitalizations hit another new high
Two more people have died due to COVID-19, raising Newfoundland and Labrador's total since the pandemic began to 118.
One person was in the Central Health region and the other was in Eastern Health, the Health Department announced Monday. One person was over 80 years old and the other was in their 70s.
The department also announced 674 new cases since Friday — 293 on Saturday, 227 on Sunday and 154 on Monday — but no longer provides data for how many tests are being done, and the new case count does not necessarily reflect the true spread of COVID-19 in the province.
Hospitalizations are also on the rise again, with 43 people admitted as of Monday — five more than on Friday, and a new record. Officials have said the health-care system can manage 40 to 60 COVID-19 hospitalizations. Nine of the people hospitalized are in critical care.
Province could be at peak of wave: Haggie
Health Minister John Haggie said Monday that COVID-19 modelling suggests the province could be at or near the peak of hospitalizations and deaths.
"I think it's a matter of how you look at where the peak lies," said Haggie. "It is a model. It could be a week out either way. But it's one of those things where you say 'we were at the peak' when you know you're on the downside."
Haggie said a spike in cases following the lifting of public health restrictions wasn't unexpected.
"Unfortunately, this is still a virus that, despite us having protected our seniors and vulnerable, still finds them," he said.
"We, on the other hand, were told quite clearly by family that the mental and physical consequences of isolation for people in long-term care were such that that too was a challenge."
