Nova Scotia is reporting 287 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday — the highest daily case count since the pandemic began.
The previous record was set in on May 7, when 227 cases were reported, while the province was in the grips of the third wave.
Of the new cases Thursday, 191 were in Central Zone, 57 in Eastern Zone, 24 in Northern Zone and 15 in Western Zone.
There are six people in hospital, including two in ICU. These numbers are unchanged from the previous day. There are no hospitalizations in Eastern Zone, where an outbreak involving the Omicron variant is centred at St. Francis Xavier University.
The cases in the province skyrocketed, since the presence of the highly-transmittable Omicron variant was identified.
Exactly one week ago on Dec. 10, the province reported 52 new cases. Two weeks ago on Dec. 2, there were 40 new cases.
The province reiterated on Thursday that the spike in testing and positive cases has led to a backlog at public health and contact tracing efforts.
Public health has started using text messages to tell people they are positive for COVID-19, due to the “significant surge” in cases. The backlog means that text messages allow for more “timely notification.”
The text messages will alert people their test came back positive, and tell them to self-isolate immediately. It will also tell them to notify all their close contacts — such as family and friends — and register for public health’s daily check-in service.
Public health will then contact positive cases by phone “within a few days” of the text message to collect more information.
Meanwhile, public health said it will continue to be responsible for notifying close contacts in certain settings, including schools, child-care facilities, universities, long-term care facilities, hospitals, corrections facilities, shelters, First Nations facilities and group living settings.
New restrictions to begin Friday
As of Friday at 9 a.m., new restrictions are being brought in across the province in regards to masking and capacity limits.
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An update from Halifax Regional Municipality indicated spectator capacity at arenas will be reduced, and physical distancing will return in municipally-run fitness centres.
As well, Halifax Transit is expecting ferry and bus service to be impacted “due to operator availability” in the coming weeks.
As for New Year’s, the annual levee at City Hall will not take place and all municipal New Year’s Eve celebrations will take place virtually.
Public schools in Nova Scotia will begin their winter break early. Friday will mark the last day of classes for most students until next January. Students were originally scheduled to be in class until next Tuesday.
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