HALIFAX -- Nova Scotia is reporting three new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and discovered that there are three more cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, first discovered in the U.K.

One new case of COVID-19 is in the Western Zone and is currently under investigation while the other two cases are in the Central Zone, the province said in a news release Tuesday afternoon. One of them is related to travel within Atlantic Canada and that person is self-isolating, as required. The other case is a close contact of a previously reported travel case.

Unrelated to the three new cases, Nova Scotia confirmed Tuesday that there are three more cases of the U.K. variant (B.1.1.7), that have been identified by the National Microbiology Lab.

"Two cases are in Central Zone and travelled together. The other case is in Western Zone and is not connected to the pair who travelled," the provincial news release stated. "The people were tested earlier this month and are self-isolating. The three cases are being reinvestigated. This brings the total number of cases of the U.K. variant in Nova Scotia to six."

As of Tuesday, Nova Scotia has 20 active cases of COVID-19 with one person hospitalized in intensive care.

Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 1,560 Nova Scotia tests on Monday and public health staff have administered 27,966 doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Of those, 11,532 have been given to Nova Scotians as their second dose.

"With more variants identified in the province, I want to thank Nova Scotians for their continued efforts to prevent the spread of COVID-19," said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health. "The best way to protect one another is by following all public health measures - wear a mask, wash your hands, maintain physical distance, adhere to the gathering limits and stay home if you are feeling unwell."

The province also encouraged people to seek asymptomatic COVID-19 testing, particularly if they have a large number of close contacts due to their work or social activities. Appointments can be booked at https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/, by choosing the asymptomatic option. Rapid testing pop-up sites continue to be set up around the province as well. More information on testing can be found at https://www.nshealth.ca/coronavirustesting.

Visit https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/ to do a self-assessment if in the past 48 hours you have had or you are currently experiencing:

  • fever (i.e. chills/sweats) or cough (new or worsening)

or:

Two or more of the following symptoms (new or worsening):

  • sore throat
  • runny nose/nasal congestion
  • headache
  • shortness of breath/difficulty breathing

Call 811 if you cannot access the online self-assessment or wish to speak with a nurse about your symptoms.