HALIFAX -- Hundreds of pizzas and sweet treats were delivered to front-line staff at Northwood’s Halifax facility Thursday morning as a show of gratitude and support from fellow health-care workers.

Halifax Infirmary ER nurse Laura Berry reached out to her colleagues for help after hearing from another coworker who is currently helping out with the COVID-19 outbreak at the long-term care facility.

“They were describing the passion they felt working here and how hard people are working,” she explains.

Berry wanted to surprise Northwood staff with a bounty of food to enjoy while they work to ensure the safety and health of residents.

Within a couple of days, thousands of dollars were raised.

Berry’s colleague, Nikki Kelly, is redeployed to Northwood and says the staff are grateful for the comforting meal as they work through these difficult times.

“I guess I didn’t expect, to that extent, how much end-of-life there would be,” says Kelly, a nurse practitioner at the infirmary. “But I was prepared for it, and ready to help out in any way that I could.”

Kelly says the facility is staffed with more workers this week and adequate personal protective equipment.

Almost a third of Nova Scotia’s confirmed cases of the virus involve residents and staff in long-term care facilities. Of the 28 deaths from COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, 22 have happened at Northwood’s Halifax location.

On Wednesday, Dr. Robert Strang said recovered residents at the long-term care facility are now being moved to another location.

Alayne Jarmon’s mother is one of those residents. The 87-year-old was diagnosed with COVID-19 two weeks ago.

“It’s great that she’s out of there for now,” she says. “But I know she’s looking forward to going back.”

According to Jarmon, her mother is staying at a hotel in Dartmouth, N.S., which has essentially turned into a makeshift long-term care facility.

“When they are symptom-free, they get moved over there,” she explains. “The recovered residents are in one wing and the staff is residing in another wing, so nobody is leaving there.”

Jarmon says she and her sister are allowed to go visit their mother in her hotel room on Mother’s Day.

With 12 new reported cases Thursday and no new deaths, many are feeling optimistic, but Dr. Strang is reminding Nova Scotians not to let their guard down and to continue following public health guidelines.