Tighter restrictions back in parts of N.S.

With cases of COVID-19 rising last week, Premier

Iain Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, announced on Feb. 26 that tighter restrictions were returning in areas of Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and some neighbouring municipalities.

"Our case numbers are rising again, and the situation is serious. We need to act swiftly to stop it from snowballing," said Premier Rankin. "We are reintroducing restrictions in the Halifax area to limit opportunities for the virus to spread through social interactions. Across the province, everyone needs to stick close to home and be extremely vigilant with all the public health measures."

Last week the province had seen 25 new cases of COVID19 at the time of the restrictions announcement – the majority in the Central Zone.

Given this, restrictions returned in areas of HRM up to and including Porters Lake, as well as the communities of Enfield, Elmsdale, Lantz, Mount Uniacke and Hubbards

on Saturday morning, Feb. 27, and will continue until 11:59 p.m. on Friday, March 26, with an extension possible.

Restrictions announced included:

restaurants and licensed establishments must stop service by 9 p.m. and close by 10 p.m.

faith-based gatherings can have 150 outdoors or 50 per cent capacity to a maximum of 100 indoors

wedding ceremonies and funerals can have 10 people including the officiant but there can be no wedding receptions and no funeral visitation or receptions

sports events, special events, arts and culture events and festivals are not permitted

sports practices and training and arts and culture rehearsals can have 25 people without physical distancing but there can be no games, competitions, tournaments or in-person performances and there can be no spectators

there can be no more than 25 people involved in a virtual performance, including performers and people managing the recording or livestream

business and organized club meetings and training can have 25 people – physical distancing is required except when emergency responders need to be closer than two metres for training

residents in long-term care homes can only have visits from their designated caregivers and can only leave for medical appointments or for a drive

AVOID NON-ESSENTIAL TRAVEL

Nova Scotians are being asked to avoid all non-essential travel within the province and elsewhere, especially to and from the restricted areas of HRM, Hants and Lunenburg counties.

"We had hoped we would not be back in the situation where these restrictions are necessary. We understand that they are disruptive but they are absolutely critical to contain the spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Strang. "Everyone needs to behave with the same caution as they did last spring when the virus first arrived in Nova Scotia. Everyone needs to get tested even if they only have one mild symptom."

As of our press deadline on Monday, the following restrictions remained in place provincewide:

the general gathering limit is 10 indoors and outdoors

gatherings at a person's home are limited to 10, including people who live there

retail businesses and malls operate at 75 per cent capacity and follow other public health measures

fitness facilities such as gyms and yoga studios operate at 75 per cent capacity and maintain three metres between people doing highintensity activities, including indoor and outdoor fitness classes

schools, after-school programs and child-care centres remain open following their respective sector plans

libraries, museums, casinos and the Nova Scotia Art Gallery remain open following their respective plans

adult day programs for seniors remain closed

People who do not follow the gathering limits can be fined. The fine is $1,000 for each person at an illegal gathering.

To protect Nova Scotia's borders, additional testing will be in place for some groups who regularly travel. Effective Monday, March 1, three COVID-19 tests are required for rotational workers, specialized workers, and parents and children whose child custody visits involve travel outside Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island. A new child custody protocol details more requirements for visits and for situations where a parent or child has symptoms or a positive test result.

The definition of rotational and specialized workers also changed on Monday, March 1 to only include those who work in Canada. International workers are subject to the federal Quarantine Act.