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N.L. reports 64th COVID-19 death as hospitalizations rise to 18

Health officials are planning a briefing for Thursday, as the province moves toward lifting all restrictions in mid March.

Health officials are planning a briefing for Thursday

Am ambulance with sirens on busy city street at dusk
Eighteen people are in hospital as a result of COVID-19 in Newfoundland and Labrador, with six in critical care. (Robert Short/CBC)

Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting its 64th COVID-19 related death Wednesday, along with a slight rise in the number of people in hospital because of the virus.

In a media release, Public Health said the man who died was over the age of 80, in the Central Health region.

There are 18 people hospitalized as a result of COVID-19, six of them in critical care.

The province also reported 494 new cases of the virus since Monday.

The new cases, offset by a reported 200 recoveries, raise the province's known active caseload to 1,824.

A total of 2,123 COVID-19 tests have been completed since Monday, with a positivity rate of 23.2 per cent. The province has completed 506,109 tests since March 2020.

The province's next COVID-19 update is scheduled for a briefing scheduled Thursday at 2 p.m. NT. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald and Health Minister John Haggie are scheduled to take part.

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