Decrease in new cases
Health officials encourage residents to remain vigilant
HALIFAX — Nova Scotians are being encouraged to stay vigilant in their efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 despite a decrease in the number of new cases in the province.
On Sunday, Premier Stephen McNeil and chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang reported that four new cases, all in the central zone, were identified on Saturday. That follows the six cases, including two in the eastern zone, identified Friday but reported on Saturday.
"I know things are looking better than they did even a few days ago and that is good news, but COVID-19 is still here," said Strang.
“I continue to ask for Nova Scotians’ patience, understanding and cooperation with the new restrictions in place and the public health measures we've been following for months. This is what will keep our communities safe."
Nova Scotia Health Authority labs completed 1,171 tests on Saturday. Almost 400 tests, all negative, were administered at Halifax’s rapid-testing popup site.
Of the four new cases, three are under investigation while a fourth person is in selfisolation after returning from travel outside of Atlantic Canada. As of Sunday there were 88 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, down from the 117 active cases noted on Friday. There are presently no coronavirus hospitalizations in the province.
Meanwhile, public health officials are also continuing to investigate earlier-identified cases, including the two in the eastern zone, that may have resulted from community spread. The eastern zone includes Cape Breton, but so far there is no indication as to where the two positive cases identified Friday were located.
The province is continuing to issue updated lists of potential exposure sites. One of those possible sites was identified on Friday as being the Best Buy store in Sydney’s Mayflower Mall. Anyone who was in the retail outlet on Nov. 22 between 3:45 p.m. and 5:15 p.m. and was exposed to the virus may develop symptoms up to Sunday.
There are no reported cases arising from the possible exposure.
The latest reports from Nova Scotia come on the heels of an announcement that Ontario set a new record high with 1,924 new positive cases on Sunday breaking the previous high set the previous day. There were 15 more COVID-related deaths, eight reported in longterm care homes, in Ontario on Sunday bringing the total number of coronavirus deaths in that province to 3,772 since the pandemic began.
As of Saturday, more than 12,500 Canadian had died from COVID.
In the United States, the number of overall positive cases has now reached more than 15 million. More than 288,000 Americans have died from the novel coronavirus.