Jump to sections in this article:
Overview
Business supports
Demographics
Testing
Vaccination
Schools
Potential exposure advisories
Two people in Nova Scotia have died from COVID-19. One was a person in their 50s, and the other was in their 70s; both died at their homes in the Halifax area. One of the people who died didn’t even know they had COVID, said Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang at today’s COVID briefing.
Strang said there have been cases where people have not called an ambulance when they had respiratory problems signalling potential COVID infection because they couldn’t afford the ambulance fees. As a result, the province is waiving ambulance fees for any such person. I asked Premier Iain Rankin today if, as people are not calling ambulances because of fear of the cost, it made sense to do away with all ambulance fees, not just potential COVID calls. In response, he said that there is a program providing assistance to people with low incomes who call ambulances, which kind of begs the question, as obviously that program isn’t sufficient to put the people who have COVID symptoms at ease.
Besides the two deaths, 153 new cases of COVID-19 are announced in Nova Scotia today (Tuesday, May 4). That’s a one-day record, but to some degree reflects the clearance of the testing backlog — 19,174 tests were completed yesterday, which is also a one-day record. Strang said that most people should now start receiving their test results within 48 hours.
Of the new cases, 139 are in Nova Scotia Health’s Central Zone, 10 are in the Eastern Zone, three are in the Northern Zone, and one is in the Western Zone.
Because the numbers are so large, Public Health is no longer able to provide the cause of cases (i.e., travel related, close contacts, etc.) by the time the release comes out.
There are now 1,060 known active cases in the province. Thirty-seven people are in hospital with the disease, and eight of those are in ICU.
Here are the daily new case numbers and the seven-day rolling averages (today at 113) for the current outbreak, dating from March 28, the last day Nova Scotia had zero new daily cases:
And here’s the graph of daily new cases and the seven-day rolling average since the start of the second wave (Oct. 1):
Here’s the graph of daily new case numbers from the start of the pandemic in March 2020:
Here is the active caseload for the current outbreak:
Here is the active caseload since the start of the second wave on Oct. 1:
And here is the active caseload from the start of the pandemic in March 2020:
Business supports
Today, Inclusive Economic Growth Minister Labi Kousoulis announced three programs intended to help businesses; two of the programs are extensions of previous programs, and the third is directed towards those businesses ordered to close or to reduce operations during the current outbreak. They are:
• Tourism Accommodations Real Property Tax Rebate Program — this is an earlier program that has been rebooted; it is available to hotels that qualified under the first iteration of the program. It will provide a 50% rebate on the first six months of commercial property tax paid in 2021-22. Applications for the program open today.
• Small Business Real Property Tax Rebate Program — also an earlier program that is being rebooted, this provides rebates on a portion of the property taxes paid by other businesses — either a rebate of $1,000 or 50% of the commercial real property taxes paid for the final six months of the 2020-21 tax year. Applications open May 10.
• Small Impact Business Grant Part 3 — this is a new program of grants of up to $5,000 for businesses. Eligible businesses are those that either saw a 30% drop in sales in March 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021 compared to the year previous, or that have seen a 30% drop in sales in May 2021 because of the restrictions imposed in April. Eligible businesses can receive a one-time grant of 15% of their sales revenue for April 2019 or February 2020. Businesses that started after March 15, 2020 can choose any month from April 2020 to March 2021 for the 15% calculation. The various business associations will alert businesses; otherwise, applications open May 19.
Additionally, government fees for businesses that were required to close or reduce operations will be deferred until June 30, and workers comp payments are deferred until July.
Demographics
Today’s reported 153 cases are in the following demographics:
• 50 aged 19 or younger (30 girls or women, 20 boys or men)
• 60 aged 20-39 (34 women, 26 men)
• 34 aged 40-59 (18 women, 16 men)
• 9 aged 60-79 (4 women, 5 men)
• 0 aged 80 or over
The active cases are distributed as follows:
• 332 in the Halifax Peninsula/Chebucto Community Health Network in the Central Zone
• 388 in the Dartmouth/Southeastern Community Health Network in the Central Zone
• 82 in the Bedford/Sackville Community Health Network in the Central Zone
• 28 in the Eastern Shore/Musquodoboit Community Health Network in the Central Zone
• 5 is in the West Hants Community Health Network in the Central Zone
• 64 in the Cape Breton Community Health Network in the Eastern Zone
• 14 in the Inverness, Victoria & Richmond Community Health Network in the Eastern Zone
• 3 in the Antigonish & Guysborough Community Health Network in the Eastern Zone
• 15 in the Colchester/East Hants Community Health Network in the Northern Zone
• 7 in the Pictou Community Health Network in the Northern Zone
• 11 in the Annapolis and Kings Community Health Network in the Western Zone
• 10 in the Lunenburg & Queens Community Health Network in the Western Zone
• 6 in the Yarmouth, Shelburne & Digby Community Health Network in the Western Zone
Ninety-five cases are not assigned to a Community Health Network, but they are in the Central Zone.
Testing
Nova Scotia Health labs completed 19,174 tests yesterday. This figure does not include the tests taken at the various pop-up testing sites.
There is now some asymptomatic PCR testing in the Halifax area, but for the next few days, the only people elsewhere in the province who should be booking PCR tests are the following:
- anyone with symptoms
- anyone who has been notified that they are a close contact of a known case
- anyone who has been at an exposure location
- anyone who has travelled outside Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Everyone not in those categories or in the Halifax area should instead go to a rapid-testing pop-up site.
You do not need a health card to get tested.
Pop-up testing (antigen testing) is for asymptomatic people over 16 who have not been to the potential COVID exposure sites (see map below); results usually within 20 minutes. Pop-up testing has been scheduled for the following sites:
Tuesday
Alderney Gate Public Library, noon-7pm
John Martin School (Dartmouth), noon-7pm
Halifax Central Library, noon-7pm
Halifax Convention Centre, noon-7pm
St Andrews Community Centre (Halifax), noon-7pm
Centre 200 (Sydney), 3-7pm
Cineplex Bridgewater, 2-7pmWednesday
Alderney Gate Public Library, noon-7pm
John Martin School (Dartmouth), noon-7pm
Halifax Central Library, noon-7pm
Halifax Convention Centre, noon-7pm
St Andrews Community Centre (Halifax), noon-7pm
Centre 200 (Sydney), 3-7pm
Cineplex Bridgewater, 2-6pmThursday
John Martin School (Dartmouth), noon-7pm
St Andrews Community Centre (Halifax), noon-7pm
Centre 200 (Sydney), 3-7pmFriday
John Martin School (Dartmouth), noon-7pm
St Andrews Community Centre (Halifax), noon-7pm
Centre 200 (Sydney), 3-7pm
You can volunteer to work at the pop-up testing sites here. No medical experience is necessary.
Those who fall into the categories that require PCR testing can get tests at the Public Health Mobile Units or the Nova Scotia Health labs.
Public Health Mobile Units are available only for pre-booked appointments for PCR tests for people of all ages (results within three days). There are currently no mobile units scheduled.
You can also get PCR testing at the Nova Scotia Health labs by going here. Appointments can be made for the IWK, or for various locations in the health zones (appointments may not be available at each site):
Central Zone
Bayers Lake (41 Washmill Lake Drive)
Burnside/Dartmouth Crossing (77 Finnian Row)
Canada Games Centre
Dartmouth General Hospital Drive-Thru (No Taxis)
Eastern Shore Memorial Hospital
Mayflower Curling Club
Musquodoboit Valley Memorial Hospital
Saint Mary’s University (Homburg Centre)
Twin Oaks Memorial Hospital (Musquodoboit Harbour)
Zatzman Sportsplex
Northern Zone
Colchester Legion Stadium (14 Lorne Street, Truro)
Truro (625 Abenaki Road, with drive-thru at 600 Abenaki Road)
Truro Farmers Market Drive-Thru testing
Amherst (34 Prince Arthur Street)
Pictou County Assessment Center (678 East River Rd, New Glasgow)
Eastern Zone
Antigonish Market Square
Buchanan Memorial Community Health Centre (Neils Harbour)
Eastern Memorial Hospital (Canso)
Grand Lake Road Fire Hall (Sydney)
Inverness Consolidated Memorial Hospital
Membertou Entertainment Centre
Northside General Hospital (North Sydney)
Sacred Heart Community Health Centre (Cheticamp)
Strait Richmond Hospital (Evanston)
Victoria County Memorial Hosptial (Baddeck)
Western Zone
Acadia Festival Theatre
Acadia University Club
Berwick Firehall
Digby Station (7 Birch Street)
Liverpool PAC (157 School Street)
Roseway Hospital (Shelburne)
South Shore Assessment Centre (215 Dominion Road, Bridgewater)
Yarmouth Mariners Centre
Yarmouth Visitor Information Centre (228 Main Street)
Vaccination
Yesterday, 4,308 doses of vaccine were administered. So far, a total of 325,218 have been administered, and 29.7% of the population has received at least one dose.
All people who are 50 or over can book an appointment for Pfizer or Moderna. People who are from 40-54 can book an appointment for the AstraZeneca. You can book an appointment here.
Schools
I’ve added school-connected COVID cases that I’m aware of to the potential exposure advisories map (see below).
The current status of schools:
All schools in the province are closed until May 12.
Potential exposure advisories
Last night, Public Health issued the following list of potential COVID exposure advisories (the release also contained a couple of corrections from previous releases; I’ve updated the potential exposure map to reflect those corrections):
Regardless of whether or not you have COVID-19 symptoms, those present at the following locations on the named dates and times for at least 15 minutes are required to self-isolate while waiting for their test result. If you get a negative result, you do not need to keep self-isolating. If you get a positive result, you will be contacted by Public Health about what to do next.
- Body N Soul Gym (606 Reeves St. Port Hawkesbury) on April 22 between 3:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. and on April 23 between 3:30 p.m. and 6p.m. It is anticipated that anyone exposed to the virus at this location on the named date may develop symptoms up to, and including, May 7.
- Aerie Store (Mic Mac Mall, 21 Micmac Blvd Suite 119, Dartmouth) on April 26 between 9:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. It is anticipated that anyone exposed to the virus at this location on the named date may develop symptoms up to, and including, May 10.
Regardless of whether or not you have COVID-19 symptoms, any passengers who were on the following transit routes for at least 15 minutes on the named dates and times are required to self-isolate while waiting for their test result. If you get a negative result, you do not need to keep self-isolating. If you get a positive result, you will be contacted by Public Health about what to do next.
- *CORRECTED TIME* Route 4 travelling from Lemarchant & University to Lacewood Terminal on April 22 between 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. It is anticipated that anyone exposed to the virus at this location on the named date may develop symptoms up to, and including, May 6.
Anyone who was on the following flights in the specified rows and seats should visit https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/en to book a COVID-19 test, regardless of whether or not they have COVID-19 symptoms. You can also call 811 if you don’t have online access or if you have other symptoms that concern you.
- Air Canada 8780 travelling on April 29 from Montreal (8:00 a.m.) to Halifax (10:24 a.m.). Passengers in rows 13-19, seats C, D, and F are asked to immediately visit https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/en to book a COVID-19 test, regardless of whether or not they have COVID-19 symptoms. All other passengers on this flight should continue to self-isolate as required and monitor for signs and symptoms of COVID-19. It is anticipated that anyone exposed to the virus on this flight on the named date may develop symptoms up to, and including, May 13.
I’ve collected all the active advisories for potential COVID exposures on bus routes and flights here.
The updated potential COVID exposure advisory map is below; you can click on the icons to get information about each site. I’ve also added school-connected cases to the map. Note: in HRM, potential exposure sites that are considered low-risk for transmission are no longer subject to advisories; that’s because everyone in HRM is encouraged to get tested, whether they were at a potential exposure site or not.
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