Nova Scotia reports 1,020 new COVID-19 cases Tuesday, new outbreaks at hospitals

Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting 1,020 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and an estimated 6,439 active cases in the province.

Public health says there are 544 cases in the Central zone, 182 cases in Eastern zone, 141 cases in Northern zone, and 153 cases in Western zone.

Premier Tim Houston and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, are scheduled to provide a live COVID-19 news conference on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 3 p.m., which will be livestreamed on CTV Atlantic's website.

N.S. COVID-19 CASE DATA

The Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 5,472 tests on Monday. The province has completed 1,601,042 tests since the pandemic began. From Jan. 1 to 3, 102 of 2,913 positive lab results were repeat positives.

Information about testing, self-isolation and case management is available online.

There are currently 40 people in hospital due to COVID-19, with five in intensive care. Their ages range from 26 to 98 years old, with an average age of 70.

Of those in hospital:

• About 10 per cent have had a third dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
• About 61 per cent are fully vaccinated (two doses).
• About three per cent are partially vaccinated.
• About 26 per cent are unvaccinated.

HOSPITAL OUTBREAKS

The Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) is reporting new outbreaks at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Northside General Hospital, and a new ward at the Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre. Fewer than five patients at each facility have tested positive.

NSHA is reporting additional cases related to an outbreak in a ward at the Halifax Infirmary. There are now 12 patients who have tested positive.

In addition, there are ongoing outbreaks at the Halifax Infirmary, Dartmouth General Hospital, Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre, St. Martha's Regional Hospital in Antigonish and New Waterford Consolidated Hospital. Fewer than 10 patients at each facility have tested positive.

VACCINE UPDATE

Nova Scotia's COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the amount of vaccines that have been administered to date.

As of Tuesday, 1,792,946 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 794,915 Nova Scotians have received their second dose, and 134,697 eligible Nova Scotians have received a third dose.

COVID ALERT APP

Canada’s COVID-19 Alert app is available in Nova Scotia.

The app, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or Google Play, notifies users if they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

LIST OF SYMPTOMS

Anyone who experiences a new or worsening cough, or who has two or more of the following symptoms, needs to self-isolate and take an online COVID-19 self-assessment test, or call 811, to determine if you need to be tested for COVID-19:

• fever (chills, sweats);
• sore throat;
• headache;
• shortness of breath; and
• runny nose/nasal congestion.