N.S. reports 25 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, active cases drop to 234

HALIFAX -

Health officials in Nova Scotia reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 and 38 recoveries on Friday, as the number of active cases drops to 234.

• Seventeen new cases were identified in the province's Central zone.
• Four new cases were identified in the province's Eastern zone.
• Three new cases were identified in the province's Northern zone.
• One new case was identified in the province's Western zone.

Health officials say there is community spread in the Central zone, primarily among people aged 20 to 40 who are unvaccinated and participating in social activities.

Public Health says it is closely monitoring all four health zones for community spread.

EXPOSURE NOTICES FOR TWO HALIFAX SCHOOLS

Health officials also sent a pair of exposure notices for schools in the Halifax Regional Municipality on Friday.

The latest school exposures are at Duc d’Anville Elementary and École Mer et Monde, both in Halifax.

In a release issued Friday afternoon, Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, recommended the closure of Duc d'Anville Elementary to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The school, located at 12 Clayton Park Dr., will be closed to students from Oct. 12 to Oct. 15 to prevent further spread of the virus among the school community.

"While our goal is to keep students learning in the classroom, I was clear that if stronger measures were needed, like closing a school, we would not hesitate to act," said Dr. Strang. "The regional medical officer of health team has been closely monitoring this situation, and they are recommending a temporary closure to contain the spread."

Public health says students will begin at-home learning on Oct. 12, and families of students will receive more information from public health.

The province has reported 10 COVID-19 exposures at Duc d’Anville Elementary since Sept. 20, including a notification every day between Oct. 4-7 and Sept. 27-30.

Public health says a negative test will be required to return to school on Oct. 18.

“It is important to note that an exposure associated with a school does not mean there is spread within the school or that the initial case was first exposed to the virus in the school. As always, all staff, parents and guardians are notified of exposures if a positive case (student, teacher or staff) was at the school while infectious,” said N.S. Health in a release.

A list of schools with exposures is available online.

COVID-19 CASE DATA

Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 3,740 tests on Thursday. A total of 1,249,606 COVID-19 tests have been processed since the start of the pandemic.

There were 22,139 rapid tests administered between Oct. 1 to 7. This includes 5,709 rapid tests at the pop-up sites in Halifax and Dartmouth and 16,430 through the workplace screening program. Another 8,730 home rapid tests were distributed at the pop-up sites.

According to the province's online COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 6,918 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia. Of those, 6,586 people have recovered and 98 have died due to COVID-19.

There are currently 15 people in hospital in Nova Scotia due to COVID-19, with four in an intensive care unit.

Since Aug. 1, there have been 1,022 positive COVID-19 cases and four deaths. Of the new cases since Aug. 1, 784 are now considered resolved.

There are cases confirmed across the province, but most have been identified in the Central zone, which contains the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The provincial government says cumulative cases by zone may change as data is updated in Panorama, the province’s electronic information system.

The numbers reflect where a person lives and not where their sample was collected.

• Western zone: 378 cases (26 active case)
• Central zone: 5,311 cases (206 active cases)
• Northern zone: 528 cases (9 active cases)
• Eastern zone: 676 cases (6 active cases)

The provincial state of emergency, which was first declared on March 22, 2020, has been extended to Oct. 17, 2021.

BREAKTHROUGH DATA

Public Health reports 'breakthrough cases' weekly. A breakthrough case involves a person becoming COVID-19 positive two weeks after receiving either one or two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.

According to Public Health, there have been 5,214 cases from March 15 to Oct. 6. Of those:

• 257 (4.9 per cent) were fully vaccinated
• 332 (6.4 per cent) were partially vaccinated
• 4,625 (88.7 per cent) were unvaccinated

There were 260 people hospitalized. Of those:

• 7 (2.4 per cent) were fully vaccinated
• 29 (10.0 per cent) were partially vaccinated
• 254 (87.6 per cent) were unvaccinated

Twenty-nine people died. Of those:

• 3 (9.4 per cent) were fully vaccinated
• 3 (9.4 per cent) were partially vaccinated
• 26 (81.3 per cent) were unvaccinated

VACCINE UPDATE

The province's COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the number of vaccines that have been administered to date.

As of Friday, 1,529,212 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

In total, 81.5 per cent of the province's overall population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 75.9 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their second dose.

The province says it has received a total of 1,661,340 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since Dec. 15.

All Nova Scotians are encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as they are eligible. COVID-19 vaccination appointments can be made online or by phone at 1-833-797-7772.

LIST OF SYMPTOMS

Anyone who experiences a fever or new or worsening cough, or two or more of the following new or worsening symptoms, is encouraged to take an online test or call 811 to determine if they need to be tested for COVID-19:

• Sore throat
• Headache
• Shortness of breath
• Runny nose/nasal congestion