Nova Scotia health officials reported seven new cases of the coronavirus on Tuesday, bringing the number of total active cases in the province to 78.
One of the new cases is located in the northern health zone and is linked to travel.
Two cases are located in the western zone and are connected to previously reported cases. The individuals are connected to a poultry plant in Annapolis Valley and the company is ordering a temporary shutdown starting on Wednesday.
Public Health said it is working to test its 450 employees on Wednesday.
Four of the new cases are in the central zone, two of which are connected to previously reported cases. One cases is under investigation and the other is a new school-related case.
New school-related case
The province said a case was detected at Shannon Park Elementary in Dartmouth, and the individual is self-isolating.
The school will remain closed to students until Monday, Dec. 14 to allow for sanitization and contact tracing, the province said.
This is the tenth school in the province to have reported a case of COVID-19.
On Monday, two school-connected cases were reported. One at Ian Forsyth Elementary School in Dartmouth in the central zone and another at Berwick and District School in the province’s western zone. The schools will remain closed until Dec. 10 to allow for a deep cleaning. Students will shift to learning from home with an update for parents and staff coming on Wednesday.
Details on COVID-19 vaccine plan
Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, said in a provincial briefing on Tuesday that Nova Scotia is receiving 1,950 doses of the first batch of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine next week.
The province is following federal guidelines on who should get the first round of immunization: front-line acute health-care workers directly involved in COVID-19 response.
The vaccine must be kept a temperature of -70 degrees Celsius, and has specific handling requirements. Strang said people have to be vaccinated very close to where the vaccine is kept.
Following the first batch, Nova Scotia is expecting weekly allotments throughout the first quarter of 2021.
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Next on the list for immunization will be long-term care residents and staff. Following them, people who are over 80 years old. Public Health will then keep moving down by five-year increments.
Strang said it won’t be until spring that the vaccine is spread to other health-care workers and summer until there’s access for the broader community.
“We are expecting to get 150,000 total doses of vaccine between now and the end of March,” Strang said. That amount will be enough to vaccinate 75,000 as each person must receive two doses.
Strang said it’ll likely be fall 2021 when every Nova Scotian has been vaccinated.
“There’s some people that are more important to get vaccinated than others and we have to allow them to be at the front of the line,” he said.
The province has a working logistics team to help out with preparations for the arrival of the vaccine. The team includes the Canadian Armed Forces.
“The bottom line for Nova Scotians is: we’re getting the vaccine and we are prepared.”
Expanded asymptomatic testing
Nova Scotia said it will begin accepting bookings for asymptomatic testing for COVID-19 provincewide on Tuesday.
Strang said it is a procedure mainly recommended for people who have had a lot of close social interaction or many social contacts.
“People are not going to be in trouble if they’ve been at a large gathering, nobody’s gonna get fined, we’re not gonna ask you why you’re there.”
Strang said no one will be turned away from a test if they are asymptomatic.
Those in the Halifax area can visit the COVID-19 testing site in the Zatzman facility in Dartmouth. Appointments are not needed for this site.
Strang said the province wants to ensure individuals are tested before Christmas time and are taking bookings until Dec. 13.
He said individuals who are asymptomatic do not need to self-isolate while awaiting a test if they have not been identified as a close contact or at an exposure location.
Holiday restrictions
Strang said in the Tuesday briefing the decrease in new COVID-19 cases reported daily is good, but it doesn’t mean the province is in the clear yet.
“All of this is encouraging but we have to make sure these trends continue over the next week and beyond,” he said.
Current tightened restrictions in the HRM and Hants will be in place until Dec. 16 when the province will re-assess the situation.
Strang said the compliance in following public health protocols among businesses has been “exceptional.”
He said staff in the labour department have been out in “full force” to check on business, and conducted more than 70 spot checks at retail establishments in the city.
In the next few weeks, restrictions will have to remain tight, Strang said.
“Unfortunately COVID isn’t going to take a break for the holidays and neither can we.”
Strang said those planning on hosting for the holiday season should remember to follow gathering limits in their area and understand who they get together with. He said everyone should be doing a risk assessment based on age, health condition, and workplace as far as who might be put at increased risk.
“It’s important that even if you have something planned, if you or someone you’re living with becomes unwell then you just can’t participate in that event, and certainly don’t bring people into your home.”
More recommendations around holiday preparations will be on the provincial website in the coming days.
“This year our focus needs to be primarily that we’re loving and caring for each other by keep each other COVID-safe.”
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