Nova Scotia reports 98th COVID-19 related death, 25 new cases on Wednesday

HALIFAX -

Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting the province’s 98th death related to COVID-19 on Wednesday.

In a news release, N.S. Health says a woman in her 70s died in the Central zone.

The province also reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 and 18 recoveries on Wednesday, as the number of active cases rises to 254.

• 20 new cases were identified in the province's Central zone.
• Two new cases were identified in the province's Northern zone.
• Two new cases were identified in the province's Western zone.
• One new case was identified in the province's Eastern 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.

32 SCHOOLS WITH COVID-19 CASES

During Wednesday's live COVID-19 news conference, Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, said there are 32 schools in the province that have confirmed cases of COVID-19.

He says the province continues to approach the cases in schools with "balance."

"We need to balance the rare risk of severe illness in children with their overall wellbeing, which is impacted by not being in school," explained Strang. "Our goal is to keep students learning in classrooms if at all possible."

Strang added to date, there has been no widespread infection in schools, or even in a single classroom.

"We have 32 schools with COVID cases. Eight of them involve spread to another person within the school. And of all these eight cases, the secondary transmission was within a single classroom and typically involves one or two other students," said Strang.

COVID-19 CASE DATA

Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 4,645 tests on Tuesday. A total of 1,241,610 COVID-19 tests have been processed since the start of the pandemic.

According to the province's online COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 6,864 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia. Of those, 6,512 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 five in an intensive care unit.

Since August 1, there have been 968 positive COVID-19 cases and four deaths. Of the new cases since August 1, 710 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: 375 cases (28 active case)
• Central zone: 5,286 cases (209 active cases)
• Northern zone: 529 cases (12 active cases)
• Eastern zone: 674 cases (5 active cases)

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

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 Wednesday, 1,523,340 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered.

In total, 81.2 per cent of the province's overall population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 75.6 per cent of Nova Scotians have received their second dose.

"This means that we can handle a certain amount of COVID spread in the province with a limited risk of people becoming severely ill and our hospitals getting overwhelmed, but we cannot pretend we are not still in a pandemic," said Strang.

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