Nova Scotia reported 22 new cases of COVID-19 and 27 recoveries on Tuesday.

There are 18 new cases in the Central Zone and four new cases in the Northern Zone. On Dec. 6, four schools were notified of an exposure at their 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.

Nova Scotia currently has 147 active cases of COVID-19.

N.S. COVID-19 CASE DATA

The Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 2,783 tests on Dec. 6.

Since Aug. 1, there have been 2,552 positive COVID-19 cases and 16 deaths. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 90.

Eleven people are currently hospitalized in the province; four of them in intensive care.

CHILDREN AND VACCINES

One school - Beechville Lakeside Timberlea Senior Elementary - is closed this week to curb the spread of COVID-19.

To help increase the vaccination rate among children in Nova Scotia, the province announced Tuesday that it would be adding two days to the upcoming holiday break for students.

School will now resume for students on Jan. 6.

"If your child is old enough to get vaccinated, please make that appointment," said Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston. "Many of the cases we are seeing now are in unvaccinated children."

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Officer of Health, said there is ongoing transmission in the Halifax area into East Hants and Truro and most of the cases are in children aged five to 11.

"Thankfully we've not seen severe illness in this age group," he said.

Strang said an outbreak in a defined community in the Northern Zone is winding down and there has been no sign of spread in the general community.

However, a cluster of cases associated with St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S. has been reported and health officials expect additional cases in the coming days.

"Public Health is working closely with the university to understand and manage this evolving situation," said Strang.

HOLIDAY GUIDENCE

As we head into the holiday season, Strang said we all need to be cautious - even if you are fully vaccinated.

Strang said they are asking people to avoid out-of-province travel if possible, especially if they are not fully vaccinated.

"If you need to visit loved ones who don't live in the province, please be careful and follow very strict public health measures where you're visiting," said Strang. "If you have people coming to visit please make sure they visit the Nova Scotian rules about entering the province and encourage them to be vaccinated before they travel."

For those looking to have a gathering in their home, Strang said there are no physical distancing or masking requirements but there is a limit of 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors for informal gatherings.

"Be careful about the number of social events you attend and the number of close contacts you have with people outside your immediate family and workplace," said Strang.

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 Dec. 6, 1,657,071 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 793,905 Nova Scotians have received their second dose, and 28,489 eligible Nova Scotians have received a third dose.

The number of people who have received their second dose includes people who received the second outside Nova Scotia.

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 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; or
  • Runny nose/nasal congestion.