Nova Scotia’s top doctor says the province cannot become complacent even as the number of coronavirus cases remains low in the province but climbs outside the Atlantic bubble.
“We cannot become complacent,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, at a provincial update on Tuesday.
Strang said that what residents do now will determine what rules are in place for the upcoming holiday season at the end of the year.
He stressed that Nova Scotia remains safe at this time but that things can change very rapidly.
Strang pointed to Manitoba as an example. He said it was only last week that Manitoba was on the same track as Nova Scotia.
But that has rapidly changed with the province setting records for the number of new cases reported in a single day.
For instance, on Friday Manitoba reported 480 new confirmed cases. That is equivalent to approximately 43 per cent of the cases Nova Scotia has reported throughout the entire pandemic.
Strang says that’s why it is important for Nova Scotians to continue to follow the COVID-19 restrictions.
“Keep using your common sense,” said Strang.
Remembrance day will look different
Get weekly health news
Strang and Premier Stephen McNeil announced on Tuesday that the province’s guidance for Remembrance Day ceremonies will soon be published on the province’s website.
Strang said that many of the rules will likely sound very familiar such as the need for physical distancing and mask-wearing but that there is no doubt that ceremonies this year will look significantly different.
The province’s chief medical officer of health said that the province will recommend that ceremonies be by invite-only and that events be held virtually if possible.
Strang said that they will recommend that there be no mass singing of the national anthem and that wreathes be laid before the ceremony begins in order to prevent the movement of people during the ceremony.
More details will be available online
‘Nothing to indicate general community spread’
On Tuesday the province reported a single new case of COVID-19 in the province.
Officials say the new case is located in the Northern Zone and the cause remains under investigation.
There are now 16 active cases in the province.
Strang says there are two groups of infections that they are working to investigate and determine the source of.
“It’s important to point out at this time that there is nothing to indicate general community spread,” Strang said.
He expanded when pressed for details, saying that at least one person in each cluster has travelled outside of the Atlantic bubble but that as they investigate they are finding other potential pieces of information that could be the source.
Strang continued to use the phrase “general community spread” throughout the press conference.
He said investigations are ongoing and that he is keeping an open mind to what health officials might find.
Since the pandemic began there have been 65 deaths related to COVID-19 in the province.
There have been 1,114 confirmed cases of the virus in Nova Scotia, 1,033 are now considered to be resolved.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.