Nova Scotia reports 26 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, active cases drop to 169

HALIFAX -

Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting 26 new cases of COVID-19 and 28 recoveries on Friday, as the number of active cases in the province drops to 169.

• Eighteen 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.

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

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICERS SPEAK OUT ABOUT VACCINE SAFETY

Nova Scotia’s Chief and Deputy Chief Medical Officer of Health say that they remain committed to ensure monitoring of vaccine safety for all vaccines, including COVID-19.

In an op-ed sent Friday, Dr. Robert Strang and Dr. Shelley Deeks addressed recent reports of adverse events following immunization.

“Nova Scotians should know that our rates for serious adverse events following COVID-19 immunization are low -- about seven for every 100,000 given doses. This is consistent with national rates and is much lower than the risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19. We are working on a plan to share data on adverse events with Nova Scotians and hope to be able to share more about that soon,” said the news release.

“Misinformation spread by those who ignore the science on vaccination and challenge our system with unfounded claims creates unnecessary fear. This can have negative and damaging impacts on individuals and on our collective pandemic response.”

EXPOSURE NOTICE FOR TWO SCHOOLS

Health officials issued an exposure notice for two schools in the province on Friday.

The latest school exposures are at Boularderie Elementary School in Cape Breton and Westmount Elementary in Halifax

“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 2,845 tests on Thursday. A total of 1,309,841 COVID-19 tests have been processed since the start of the pandemic.

There were 26,046 rapid tests administered between Oct. 22 and 28. This includes 1,725 rapid tests at the pop-up sites in Halifax, Dartmouth and Kentville and 24,321 through the workplace screening program. Another 13,525 home rapid tests were distributed at the pop-up sites.

According to the province's online COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 7,354 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia. Of those, 7,085 people have recovered and 100 have died due to COVID-19.

There are currently 10 people in hospital in Nova Scotia due to COVID-19, with one in an intensive care unit.

Since Aug. 1, there have been 1,458 positive COVID-19 cases and six deaths. Of the new cases since Aug. 1, 1,283 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: 430 cases (27 active cases)
• Central zone: 5,648 cases (101 active cases)
• Northern zone: 584 cases (32 active cases)
• Eastern zone: 692 cases (9 active cases)

The provincial state of emergency, which was first declared on March 22, 2020, has been extended to Nov. 14, 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 the province there have been 87 cases of COVID-19 from Oct. 21 to Oct. 27. Of those:

• 23 (26.4 per cent) were fully vaccinated
• 3 (3.4 per cent) were partially vaccinated
• 61 (70.1 per cent) were unvaccinated

There have been 5,649 cases from March 15 to Oct. 27. Of those:

• 359 (6.4 per cent) were fully vaccinated
• 359 (6.4 per cent) were partially vaccinated
• 4,931 (87.3 per cent) were unvaccinated

There were 306 people hospitalized. Of those:

• 12 (3.9 per cent) were fully vaccinated
• 31 (10.1 per cent) were partially vaccinated
• 263 (85.9 per cent) were unvaccinated

Thirty-four people died. Of those:

• 3 (8.8 per cent) were fully vaccinated
• 3 (8.8 per cent) were partially vaccinated
• 28 (82.4 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, 1,572,667 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered

In total, 83.1 per cent of the province's overall population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 78.3 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their second dose.

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