The province has announced a record-setting 227 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, along with the death of someone in their 70s in the Halifax area.
Premier Iain Rankin said the person died at home.
There have now been 70 COVID-19 related deaths in Nova Scotia.
The province said there are 202 new cases in Central Zone, 14 in Eastern Zone, nine in Western Zone and two in Northern Zone.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia sets another daily COVID-19 record with 182 cases
At the COVID-19 briefing Friday, Rankin said the bad news is there are 200 and more positive cases that still need to be added in the system.
“We are going to have high numbers,” said Rankin of the days ahead.
Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang, said now there is also a large number of positive cases that haven’t been investigated yet.
“As these cases do get investigated and added entered into panorama…they will be reported in our daily numbers,” he said.
Strang also said Nova Scotia Health is creating a team that will call all the positive cases identified by the lab as soon as possible.
In the meantime, anyone tested due to a potential exposure, because they have symptoms, or were advised by public health to self-isolate until receiving test results, should continue to self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
Their household should also isolate until contacted. Close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases and those who were present at high-risk exposure locations are required to self-isolate for a full 14 days, regardless of test result.
As of Friday, Nova Scotia has 1,464 active cases of COVID-19. There are 50 people in hospital, including nine in ICU.
New restrictions
Due to the increasing numbers of COVID-19, Rankin announced even tougher restrictions.
The province said public and private schools will remain closed to students and at-home learning will continue until at least May 31.
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New border measures will take effect at 8 a.m. Monday, and will be in place until at least the end of the month:
- Nova Scotia’s border will close to people intending to move here
- The border will close to people coming from Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador; it was closed previously to non-essential travel from other provinces
According to the province, the following people will be allowed to enter Nova Scotia:
- Permanent residents returning to the province
- People who work outside the province
- Post-secondary students returning home or entering to study; parents from outside Nova Scotia are not allowed pick students up or drop them off
- People traveling for child custody reasons, following the child custody protocol
- People who are exempt from self-isolation, following the exempt traveler protocol (for example, long-haul truck drivers, airline crew, first responders, people needing essential health services)
- People who follow the protocol for travel between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick for work, school and child care only
Rankin also said at the briefing not to travel between communities for non-essential services.
“This is really important. We’ve put strict parameters around this…HRM is a big municipality…if you’re in Dartmouth, stay on that side of the bridge and go to a grocery store and pharmacy there,” said Rankin.
“Police can stop you and fine you $2,000,” he added.
Nova Scotians can travel outside their community for essential travel like work, childcare, child custody, medical and legal appointments and necessary services like food, gas, healthcare and medications.
Effective immediately, the province also announced rotational workers returning home from outbreak zones can no longer do the modified form of self-isolation.
“They must self-isolate for 14 days in a completely separate space from the other people in their households, but they can share a bathroom that is cleaned between uses,” the province said.
Except for their mandatory COVID-19 testing, they also can’t attend medical appointments, unless it’s an emergency.
Starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, the province announced Nova Scotians must designate one shopper per household and retail stores that offer in-person shopping will impose a limit of one shopper per household. Exceptions will be made for children and caregivers.
Businesses are also being asked to stop selling products that are not essential. Essential products include food, pet supplies, baby and child products and pharmaceutical products.
Retail stores that primarily offer products and services that are essential to the life, health or personal safety of people and animals can continue to provide limited in-person service only to a maximum of 25 per cent of the store capacity in order to limit the number of people inside the store.
“We are asking businesses to promote contactless payment and pickup where possible…. For those who must do in-person shopping, you must do so for essential items only,” said Strang.
“It is not the time to go to Costco for sandals that you heard were in stock. It’s critical you limit your trips,” he added.
Strang said people can get outside in their neighbourhood, but if some Nova Scotians are doing it with people outside their household, it must be with very few people and must be distanced.
New age group eligible for vaccination
On Friday, Nova Scotia announced that starting today people aged 45 to 49 can book appointments for the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
The appointments must be made online and can’t be booked directly through a community clinic, pharmacy or physician.
Walk-ins will also be turned away.
On May 6, Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 7,816 tests.
There were 31,128 tests administered between April 30 and May 6 at the rapid-testing pop-up sites in Dartmouth, Halifax, Sydney and Bridgewater.
As of May 6, 356,978 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 37,630 Nova Scotians have received their second dose.
Since April 1, there have been 1,849 positive COVID-19 cases and four deaths. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 90. There are 381 resolved cases. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.
Public Health new way of contacting positive COVID-19 cases
Nova Scotia Public Health also announced Friday it will begin contacting positive COVID-19 cases and close contacts by text message, when that is an option.
With case numbers increasing in Nova Scotia, Public Health said this will allow timely notification of positive cases and close contacts so they can immediately begin self-isolation to avoid further spread.
“The text message will advise people they have tested positive or have been identified as a close contact of someone who has COVID-19,” a statement said.
If someone tests positive for COVID-19, they can expect a text message from Public Health, a call from the COVID Community Virtual Care Team for those over the age of 16, and a call from a public health nurse.
“It is critical that Nova Scotians answer calls that may display as coming from “unknown” numbers, or originate from different parts of the province,” the statement went on to say.
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