Nova Scotia tightens border with New Brunswick
HALIFAX — A surge in COVID-19 cases in New Brunswick has led Nova Scotia to tighten the border with that province.
Starting today, people entering Nova Scotia from New Brunswick must complete the Nova Scotia Safe Checkin form before arriving and self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival.
Nova Scotians returning from New Brunswick must also self-isolate for 14 days unless they are exempt from the order. For example, people who regularly cross the border for work do not have to isolate and can get a pass from border officials to display in their vehicle.
People who arrived from New Brunswick or had visitors from that province in the past 14 days should get tested immediately and consider a second test five to seven days later. People who were in New Brunswick should selfisolate while waiting for the first test result. People can book a test at https://covidself-assessment.novascotia.ca/en.
New Brunswick reported 18 new cases Friday and 24 the day before.
“What we’re saying here is do not go to New Brunswick and New Brunswickers, do not come here unless it is (for) essential purposes,” McNeil said.
Permanent residents of Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador do not have to isolate if they drive straight through New Brunswick to Nova Scotia with no or minimal stops.
TWO NEW CASES
Nova Scotia reported two new COVID-19 cases on Friday.
Both cases — one in the central health zone and one in the eastern zone — are related to travel outside the Atlantic region. Both people are selfisolating as required.
The number of active cases edged up by one to 29. The province doesn’t break down active cases by zone but COVID-19 has been most active in the central region this fall and indeed throughout the pandemic that began in March.
Despite the low number of cases, the restrictions that are part of the pandemic state of emergency will be maintained until Jan. 24, with a few exceptions, said Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, at the briefing.
“We will continue to be cautious through the month of January until we can be sure the impact of the holiday season is behind us, and you don’t need to look far to see why we’re choosing this cautious approach,” Strang said, referring to the case surge in New Brunswick, a 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew in Quebec, and spiralling death tolls and overwhelmed hospitals in Ontario.
“We cannot take COVID-19 lightly, if we allow it to spread freely, it will have significant impacts on the whole community.”
But a few rules will be loosened as of Monday. Retail operators can increase the number of customers from 25 to 50 per cent of their maximum legal capacity. Provincial casinos in Halifax and Sydney can reopen, as will three First Nations casinos in HRM.
As with licensed restaurants and bars, the provincial casinos must stop serving food and beverages by 10 p.m. and close entirely by 11 p.m. The First Nations casinos, which are not licensed, can operate on their usual schedule.
With the return of students to public schools Monday, the province has loosened the no-singing and instrument playing rules that have been in effect. Music students can practice in groups of no more than 25 with provisions such as physical distancing and time limits (a similar loosening of rules has been extended to community choral and musical rehearsals).
The 25-person limit also applies to sports activities in school gyms, although the ban on inter-school games remains, Strang said.
IMMUNIZATION AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
Regarding the COVID-19 immunization program, Strang said the program will move to long-term care residents a week ahead of schedule. On Monday, residents at Northwood’s Halifax and Bedford campuses will get their shots, followed in the days to come by residents and staff at Shannex’s Parkstone facility and Oceanview.
Nova Scotia received 3,900 more doses of the Pfizer vaccine this week, which has gone to Cape Breton hospitals and the Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville.
“We’ll be starting clinics for health-care workers, both acute care workers and longterm care workers, in both of those locations on Monday,” Strang said. “These will be the first clinics to administer COVID-19 vaccine outside of Halifax.”
He expects to receive two more vaccine shipments next week: 5,585 doses of the Pfizer vaccine and another 3,700 doses of the Moderna vaccine. Some of the Pfizer vaccine will go to ColchesterEast Hants where a clinic for health-care workers will be held and some will go to an unnamed long-term-care facility in Cape Breton.
The vaccine rollout will be expanded to other long-termcare facilities as more vaccine is received, Strang said.
“By the end of next week, we’ll have received 23,000 doses of vaccine, which is enough to immunize 11,500 Nova Scotians.”
LATEST NUMBERS
As of Jan. 8, there have been 1,256 cases in the central zone, 112 in the northern zone, 87 in the western zone and 71 in the eastern zone.
Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 1,831 Nova Scotia tests on Thursday and there were 558 tests administered between Jan. 3 and Jan. 7 at rapid-testing pop-up sites in Halifax.
Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 124,483 tests. There have been 437 positive COVID-19 cases and no deaths. No one is in hospital.