Nova Scotia reports 118 new cases of COVID-19, expands vaccine program

HALIFAX — Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health urged residents on Tuesday not to leave their communities as the province reported 118 new cases of COVID-19.

With health officials reporting more than 100 new cases a day since May 1, the total number of active cases stood at 1,591 as of Tuesday. There were 64 people in hospital with the disease, including 10 receiving intensive care. 

“I want to thank Nova Scotians for their continued support, hard work and commitment to following the public health protocols,” Dr. Robert Strang said in a brief statement. 

“We are asking people to stick as close to home as possible and only travel outside your community when absolutely necessary. Everyone needs to use their judgment about what is necessary.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Nova Scotia has recorded 4,152 cases of COVID-19, which includes 71 deaths and 2,490 resolved cases.

Meanwhile, the province announced Tuesday people aged 40 and older can book appointments for the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. This group had been able to get the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine since April 30.

Provincial officials say there are about 62,000 eligible Nova Scotians in the 40-to-44 age group.

The province has been dealing with a sudden surge in COVID-19 cases since mid-April, and a provincewide lockdown was imposed on April 28. Since April 1, Nova Scotia has reported 2,410 positive COVID-19 cases and five deaths, marking the worst outbreak in Atlantic Canada since the pandemic was declared in March 2020.

Nova Scotia’s two-week deadline for the latest lockdown is Wednesday, but it appears unlikely the province will lift the tighter public health restrictions.

As Nova Scotia’s boundaries were closed to non-essential travel on Monday, Strang said the infection rate was coming down — but at a slow rate. “I’m fully aware you don’t turn this around overnight,” he told a news conference.

In the Halifax area, police continued to crack down on people accused of violating the province’s Health Protection Act. 

On Monday night at around 10:25 p.m., Halifax police issued $2,000 tickets to a man and a woman after officers were called to an alleged illegal social gathering at a residence on Nadia Drive in Dartmouth, N.S.

And a Dartmouth woman was handed a $2,000 fine on Tuesday for allegedly failing to follow self-isolation rules.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2021.

The Canadian Press