HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia is reporting one new death from COVID-19, bringing the province's total number of deaths to 10.
The latest death was at Halifax's Northwood long-term care home, where six of the province's 10 deaths have now occurred.
"This is a deeply sad day for the family and loved ones of this individual, as well as everyone at Northwood. Nova Scotians offer their heartfelt condolences to them," said Premier Stephen McNeil. "We will all get through this extraordinarily difficult time by pulling together and supporting each other."
The province also reported 16 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, bringing the province's total to 737.
The 16 new cases is the lowest reported single-day total in the province since April 3.
Premier Stephen McNeil and chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang are expected to issue an update at a news conference Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. AST.
MORE CASE NUMBERS
As of April 20, the province reports ten licensed long-term care homes and unlicensed seniors' facilities in Nova Scotia with cases of COVID-19, involving 128 residents and 62 staff.
The province says 286 people have recovered from the virus and their cases are considered resolved.
The QEII Health Sciences Centre's microbiology lab completed 516 tests on Monday and is operating 24-hours.
To date, Nova Scotia has 22,190 negative test results and 737 positive results.
Eleven people are currently in hospital. Three of those patients are in intensive care units.
The confirmed cases range in age from under 10 to over 90.
ONE NEW DEATH, TEN TOTAL
The latest death is the province's tenth COVID-19 related death, with the last six all coming from Halifax's Northwood long-term health facility
Five other people died this weekend at Northwood Halifax campus; two on Saturday and three on Friday.
Nine of the 10 confirmed COVID-19-related deaths in the province have been connected to long-term care facilities.
On Saturday, Shannex confirmed that a resident who lived at Harbourstone Enhanced Care in Sydney, N.S. died in hospital from COVID-19 on Friday.
On Monday, April 13, a man in his 80s died at the Admiral Long Term Care Centre in Dartmouth, N.S.
On April 6, a woman in her 70s died at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, becoming the province's first COVID-19-related death. It was later revealed that she was a resident at the Northside Community Guest Home in North Sydney, N.S.
The lone death that has not been connected to a long-term care facility is a woman in her 90s who died on April 8 at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital.
UPDATE ON NORTHWOOD
Dr. Robert Strang says that of the 16 new cases in the province, only one of the positive cases is a resident at Northwood, but he expects those numbers to continue to rise as soon as Wednesday.
"That may seem low compared to what we had in the last few days. We know that because of all the transition happening on Saturday, there was very little testing happening on Saturday at Northwood. Enhanced testing started on Sunday, and over the next few days I expect we’ll see the results of that enhanced testing and fully expect to see the number of positives going back up again,” said Strang.
As of Tuesday, a total of 112 residents and 40 staff members at Northwood’s Halifax campus had tested positive for the coronavirus.
WHERE ARE THE CASES LOCATED?
Health officials say there are cases across the province. More information about the breakdown of cases is available in an online map.
The map breaks the cases down according to the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s four zones and indicates where testing was conducted, not necessarily where the individuals live.
On Tuesday, 15 of the 16 new positive cases were confirmed in the central zone, which contains the Halifax Regional Municipality.
One new case was confirmed in the western zone, with no new cases reported in the northern or eastern zone of the province.
- Western zone: 54 cases
- Central zone: 600 cases
- Northern zone: 37 cases
- Eastern zone: 46 cases
