HALIFAX: The province is reporting 77 new cases and 61 recoveries over a two day period since the last update on Sept. 29.
There are 51 cases in Central Zone, 13 cases in Western Zone, seven cases in Eastern Zone and six cases in Northern Zone.
There is community spread in Central Zone, primarily among people aged 20 to 40 who are unvaccinated and participating in social activities.
Six schools were notified of an exposure(s) at their school since the last update on September 29. It is important to note that an exposure associated with a school does not mean there is spread within the school or that the initial case was first exposed to the virus in the school.
As always, all staff, parents and guardians are notified of exposures if a positive case (student, teacher or staff) was at the school while infectious. A list of schools with exposures is available online: https://backtoschool.ednet.ns.ca/school-exposures
There have been 4,953 cases from March 15 to September 29, 2021. Of those:
— 187 (3.8 per cent) were fully vaccinated
— 310 (6.3 per cent) were partially vaccinated
— 4,456 (90.0 per cent) were unvaccinated
There were 279 people hospitalized. Of those:
— 6 (2.2 per cent) were fully vaccinated
— 29 (10.4 per cent) were partially vaccinated
— 244 (87.5 per cent) were unvaccinated
Thirty-one people died. Of those:
— 3 (9.7 per cent) were fully vaccinated
— 3 (9.7 per cent) were partially vaccinated
— 25 (80.6 per cent) were unvaccinated
As of today, Nova Scotia has 240 active cases of COVID-19. Of those, 11 people are in hospital, including four in ICU.
There were 4,046 tests administered between September 24 and September 30 at the rapid-testing pop-up sites in Halifax and Dartmouth.
Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 4,625 tests on September 29 and 4,678 tests on September 30.
As of September 30, 1,512,263 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 728,168 Nova Scotians have received their second dose.
Since August 1, there have been 819 positive COVID-19 cases and three deaths. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 90. There are 576 resolved cases. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.
The province 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, October 3, and extend to noon, Sunday, October 17, unless government terminates or extends it.
Testing advice:
Nova Scotians with or without symptoms can book a test at: https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/en for COVID-19 for COVID-19 testing centres across the province. Those eligible to receive asymptomatic testing are listed at: https://www.nshealth.ca/visit-covid-19-testing-site . Those with no symptoms who do not meet this criteria are encouraged to use one of the rapid testing pop-up sites if they want to be tested. Some public health mobile unit clinics also offer drop-in testing; this will be noted in promotions.
Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms is advised to self-isolate and book a COVID-19 test.
Anyone advised by public health that they were a close contact needs to complete a full 14-day quarantine, regardless of test results, unless they are fully vaccinated.
If they are fully vaccinated at least 14 days before the exposure date, they do not need to self-isolate as long as they are not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. They should still get tested and should monitor for symptoms up to 14 days after the exposure date.
If symptoms develop, they should get tested and self-isolate until they receive a negative test result.
Symptoms and self-assessment:
Nova Scotians should visit https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/ to do a self-assessment if in the past 48 hours they have had or are currently experiencing:
— cough (new or worsening)
Or two or more of the following symptoms:
— fever (chills, sweats)
— headache
— runny nose or nasal congestion
— sore throat
— shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
People should call 811 if they cannot access the online self-assessment or wish to speak with a nurse about their symptoms.
Anyone with symptoms should immediately self-isolate and book a test.
Quick Facts:
— due to an increased number of investigations, the exposure category (i.e., travel, close contact or under investigation) is not always available by release time; a breakdown by zone identifying exposure categories will no longer be provided regularly
— a state of emergency was declared under the Emergency Management Act on March 22, 2020, and has been extended to October 17, 2021
Additional Resources:
Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information, handwashing posters and fact sheets at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus
More information on COVID-19 case data, testing and vaccines is available at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/data/
