HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia reported one new case of COVID-19 in the central zone Monday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the province to 1,057.
Last Friday, Nova Scotia reported no new cases for the first time since mid-March -- a milestone Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang called “significant and encouraging.”
However, one new case was reported on Saturday, along with the death of a Northwood resident.
The province again reported no additional cases on Sunday.
Premier Stephen McNeil and Strang will not hold a news conference on Monday. The next news conference is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
984 people recovered
The QEII Health Sciences Centre's microbiology lab completed 626 Nova Scotia tests on Sunday.
To date, Nova Scotia has 42,426 negative test results.
The province isn’t reporting any additional deaths at this time.
Sixty people have died from COVID-19 in Nova Scotia. Fifty-three of those deaths have involved residents at the Northwood long-term care facility in Halifax, which has seen the most significant outbreak in the province.
As of Sunday, Northwood was reporting a total of 345 confirmed cases of COVID-19, involving 246 residents and 99 employees, though 183 residents and 95 employees have now recovered from the virus.
Three more people have recovered from COVID-19, for a total of 984 recoveries. Those cases are all considered resolved.
According to the provincial numbers released Monday, there are 13 active cases of the virus in Nova Scotia.
However, the province also stated there are 10 active cases among Northwood residents and four active cases among Northwood staff, which would leave 14 active cases.
CTV News reached out to the Nova Scotia government for clarification on these numbers and received this response:
"Data is received from different sources and entered into our systems. We report the information each day, but there may be delays that result in the data not reconciling. You cannot combine results or compare the numbers from one day to the next to determine the totals."
Northwood is the only long-term care facility with active cases of COVID-19 at this time.
New case in central zone
The province’s confirmed cases range in age from under 10 to over 90.
Sixty-two per cent of cases are female and 38 per cent are male.
One person has been released from hospital. There are now six people in hospital, with two patients in the intensive care unit.
The latest case was confirmed in the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s central zone, which contains the Halifax Regional Municipality, and has seen the most significant number of cases.
The western, northern and eastern zones are seeing no new cases at this time.
- Western zone: 54 cases
- Central zone: 907 cases
- Northern zone: 45 cases
- Eastern zone: 51 cases
Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 is required to self-isolate at home, away from the public for 14 days.
Anyone who travels outside of Nova Scotia must also self-isolate for two weeks.
The provincial state of emergency, which was first declared on March 22, has been extended to June 14.
The latest on social gatherings, reopening
On Friday, the province boosted the social gathering limit from five people to 10 people. Ten people can now gather in a group, but the rules around physical distancing still apply, except when gathering with those included in your “household bubble.”
An exception is being made for weddings and funeral services being held outdoors, which can accommodate 15 people, in addition to the officiant.
Most Nova Scotia businesses that were forced to close due to the pandemic in mid-March can reopen Friday, including restaurants, bars, wineries, gyms, salons and spas.
List of symptoms expanded
Last month, the province expanded the list of symptoms for which it is screening.
Anyone who experiences one of the following symptoms is encouraged to take an online test to determine if they should call 811 for further assessment:
- fever (i.e. chills, sweats)
- cough or worsening of a previous cough
- sore throat
- headache
- shortness of breath
- muscle aches
- sneezing
- nasal congestion/runny nose
- hoarse voice
- diarrhea
- unusual fatigue
- loss of sense of smell or taste
