Nova Scotia reported 611 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
There are 393 cases in the Central Zone, 60 cases in the Eastern Zone, 59 cases in the Northern Zone and 99 cases in the Western Zone.
In a release, the province said there is one new case reported at Parkstone Enhanced Care in Halifax. A total of two residents and two staff members at the facility have tested positive so far and no one is in hospital.
On Dec. 23, 11 schools were notified of a COVID-19 exposure at their school. A list of schools with exposures is available online.
As of Friday, there are an estimated 4,266 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia. Of those, 15 people are in hospital, including four in ICU.
NSHA’s labs completed 8,897 tests the day before.
There were 125,529 rapid tests administered between December 17 and 23. This includes 8,848 rapid tests at the pop-up sites in Halifax and surrounding communities and 116,681 through the workplace screening program.
Another 134,304 home rapid tests were distributed at the pop-up sites.
Nova Scotia announced earlier on Friday that it’s making changes to its COVID-19 testing program and its case management system next week, as the province continues to report high numbers of infections driven by the Omicron variant.
In a release, Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s top doctor, said that Nova Scotia’s priority for PCR testing has to be on people who are most vulnerable to disease and people who work in healthcare, “but everyone who needs a COVID-19 test will get one.”
Rapid tests should now primarily be used when someone has symptoms or are identified as close contacts. Strang noted that gathering limits have now been capped at a consistent group of 10 people, “so there shouldn’t be a need for a lot of testing for social occasions.”
As of Thursday, 1,763,416 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 793,666 Nova Scotians have received their second dose, and 109,333 eligible Nova Scotians have received a third dose.
The province said it is renewing the state of emergency “to protect the health and safety of Nova Scotians and ensure safety measures and other important actions can continue.”
The order will take effect at noon, Sunday, December 26, and extend to noon, Sunday, January 9, 2022, unless the government terminates or extends it.
— With files from Alex Cooke
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