HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia is reporting two new cases of COVID-19, including a new case in the northern zone, which hasn’t seen a new case of the virus in over two weeks.
A COVID-19 case was last identified in the northern zone on May 11. The zone now has 45 cases of COVID-19.
The second case was identified in the central zone, which contains the Halifax Regional Municipality, and contains the largest number of cases.
There are now 1,055 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, though most people have recovered from the virus.
The QEII Health Sciences Centre's microbiology lab completed 1,136 tests on Wednesday.
To date, Nova Scotia has 40,240 negative test results.
The province isn’t reporting any additional deaths at this time. Fifty-nine people have died from COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, including 52 residents at Halifax’s Northwood long-term care facility, which has seen the most significant outbreak of the virus.
Premier Stephen McNeil and Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang will not be holding a news conference on Thursday. The next news conference will be held on Friday.
977 people recovered; 19 active cases
The province says two more people have recovered from the virus, for a total of 977 recoveries.
This leaves 19 active cases in the province.
There are 16 active cases of COVID-19 at Northwood, involving 12 residents and four staff members.
No other long-term care facilities are reporting active COVID-19 cases at this time.
This leaves three active cases outside of Northwood.
1 more person admitted to hospital
The province says one more person has been admitted to hospital. There are now eight people in hospital and three patients are in intensive care units.
CTV News reached out to the province for clarification on hospitalizations and whether there are Northwood residents in hospital.
The Department of Health and Wellness provided this statement on Wednesday:
“Throughout the pandemic, there have been residents of [long-term care facilities] in Nova Scotia admitted to hospital due to COVID-19. However, due to the small number of these hospitalizations, we cannot provide more information about the current cases for privacy reasons.”
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.
The latest cases were confirmed in the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s northern and central zones.
The western and eastern zones are reporting no additional cases at this time.
western zone: 54 cases
central zone: 905 cases
northern zone: 45 cases
eastern zone: 51 cases
Public health is working to identify and test people who may have come in close contact with the confirmed 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.
Most businesses can reopen on June 5
On Wednesday, the province announced that most businesses that were forced to close at the start of the pandemic in March, can reopen on June 5.
This includes restaurants, bars, wineries, hair salons, barber shops, nail salons and fitness facilities, including gyms and yoga studios.
Some health providers, including dentists, optometrists, physiotherapists and massage therapists, can also reopen on June 5.
The businesses and health providers are required to follow the protocols tailored to their sector, as approved by public health.
The province hopes to allow daycares to reopen on June 15, but that date is not confirmed at this time.
While businesses may be reopening, the public health directives around physical distancing and five-person gathering limits remain in place.
The provincial state of emergency, which was first declared on March 22, has been extended to May 31.
List of symptoms expanded
Last week, 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
- red, purple or blueish lesions on the feet, toes or fingers without clear cause
