'I'll take 50 per cent over total lockdown': New restrictions now in place in Nova Scotia as COVID-19 cases soar

New restrictions are now in place across Nova Scotia as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the province.

"I think I'm generally concerned,” said Natalie Lord.

“I'm an elementary teacher so there's a lot cases in the schools, but I do think the vaccine is proven that it's helping.”

Among the changes now in effect, museums, malls and stores must now operate at 50 per cent capacity.

"I would lie if I said we're not biting our fingernails every time we listen to the announcement,” said Grace Rufenacaht, one of the owners of One of a Kind store in Dartmouth.

“We do what we got to do to stay safe, and like I said, I'll take 50 per cent over total lockdown any day."

Rufenacaht doesn’t expect her store to be impacted by the latest round of restrictions.

"I don't think it's going to impact our business that much because we never really got over 50 per cent capacity anyway. Christmas business has been slow. You know, not like pre-pandemic,” she said.

Restaurants and bars must now operate at 50 per cent capacity and stop dine-in service at 11 p.m.

"The recent spike in cases and the new restrictions have wreaked havoc on our industry,” said Luc Erjavec with Restaurants Canada.

Erjavec said the restaurant industry has been decimated over the last two weeks.

"We have staff, restaurants that are unable to open because staff have either been in close contact with someone and ordered to isolate or they, themselves have caught COVID and forced to self-isolate,” he said.

“If you look in downtown Halifax today, I would estimate easily half the restaurants are closed because they just don't have the staff to open or the business to make it worthwhile."

With the indoor gathering limit now capped at 10, many people have had to change their holiday plans.

"We were planning on going to see family in the Annapolis Valley. We decided that no, that's not going to happen, so we're just going to stay close to home,” said Darrell Crandall.

"COVID allowed me to move down to Nova Scotia this year, cause with COVID, I'm now working 100 per cent at home. But now, Omicrom steps in and I can't spend Christmas with my family that I haven't spent Christmas with in over 30 years,” said Susan Holden.

Starting Tuesday, those 50 and older were able to book a booster dose of vaccine. Michael McCluskey was able to book a shot Tuesday morning.

"Number one, I want to keep myself healthy but more importantly, number two, I want to keep other people healthy because there are folks out there that, through no fault of their own, can't get the vaccination. They're not making a personal choice, they just physically cannot get it for whatever medical reasons they have. So, I think that as part of a society, it's up to us, to keep the most vulnerable people as safe as we can,” said McCluskey.

As the pandemic lingers on, Dr. Lisa Barrett, an infectious disease expert, is reminding Nova Scotians to wear a mask and wear it properly.

"I'm really interested in people having very good fitting masks, not just because of the variant but because right now, the levels of virus in our community are quite high and I suspect that our case numbers are only a tiny proportion of the actual cases around us, and, good idea to wear the masks,” she said.