Coronavirus: No new cases reported in Nova Scotia as province changes data reporting system

The Nova Scotia government has announced it will be changing the way it reports cases of the novel coronavirus to ensure all publicly reported data comes from a single source.

In a news release Monday, the province said all data will now be reported through Panorama, the province’s public health reporting system.

The announcement comes amid confusion over how many active cases of COVID-19 there are in the province.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Nova Scotia reports 1 new case; recovery total remains at 999

Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, has said the data from long-term care homes comes from a different data source than the one used by public health and is on a different timeline.

Strang has also said public health is not reporting active cases because the total is “essentially zero” and there’s “nothing really robustly to add.”

The province says updated data will be provided this week.

0 new cases in Nova Scotia 

The province is reporting zero new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, keeping the total at 1,059.

The QEII Health Sciences Centre’s microbiology lab completed 293 Nova Scotia tests on Sunday.

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The province says there is now just one active resident case of COVID-19 connected to Northwood. There are now no active staff cases.

There are no other licensed long-term care homes in Nova Scotia with active cases.

READ MORE: No new cases of coronavirus identified in Nova Scotia Saturday

No other case number data was provided, as it is currently being converted to a single source.

Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:

Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.

To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus.

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