**** HEALTH/WELLNESS Media Release
Restrictions Added Across Nova Scotia
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With a new record high number of COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia, tighter restrictions are returning in all areas of the province, Premier Iain Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, announced today, April 26.
“COVID does not respect municipal borders – and so, we need all Nova Scotians to act accordingly,” said Premier Rankin. “Please adhere to public health measures by staying close to, or at, home, avoid non-essential activities or travel, do not gather, wear a mask and get tested regularly. We’ll get through this together.”
People should avoid travel outside their own community unless it is absolutely necessary such as for school, work, health care, child care, child custody, legal requirements, and family visitation under the purview of the Department of Community Services.
Effective immediately, all school field trips and school-organized activities that bring students from different schools together, such as sports and music, have been stopped.
“We need to limit the virus’s ability to spread by reducing the opportunities for people to come together,” said Dr. Strang. “For the next four weeks, I’m asking everyone to roar back at this virus by hunkering down close to home as much as possible, reducing your contact with other people and getting tested regularly.”
Restrictions announced last week for Halifax Regional Municipality, Hubbards, Milford, Lantz, Elmsdale, Enfield, Mount Uniacke, South Uniacke, Ecum Secum and Trafalgar remain in place.
In all other parts of the province, the following restrictions are effective 8 a.m. Tuesday, April 27, and will remain in effect until at least May 20:
— the gathering limit is 10 total, both indoors and outdoors
— no social events, special events, festivals, arts/cultural events, sports events, wedding receptions, or funeral visitation or receptions
— faith gatherings are limited to 25 per cent of indoor capacity to a maximum of 100 or 150 outdoors, with physical distancing
— wedding and funeral ceremonies hosted by a recognized business or organization can have 10 people, plus officiants
— maximum of 25 people, with physical distancing and masks, for meetings or training hosted by a recognized business or organization
— maximum of 10 people indoors or 25 people outdoors for sports practices and training but no games, competitions or tournaments
— maximum of 10 people indoors or 25 people outdoors for arts and culture rehearsals but no in-person performances
— virtual gatherings and performances can be held with a maximum of 25 people in one location, with physical distancing
— restaurants and licensed establishments operate at 50 per cent capacity, provide service until 11 p.m. and close for seated service by midnight
— Casino Nova Scotia in Sydney, VLTs and First Nations gaming establishments operate at 50 per cent capacity, provide food and beverage service until 11 p.m. and close at midnight
— licensed and unlicensed establishments and organized clubs can operate at 50 per cent to host activities such as darts, cards, pool and bowling following their sector plans and guidelines for these activities
— retail businesses and malls can operate at 50 per cent capacity and must follow other public health measures
— personal services such as hair salons, barber shops and spas can operate but cannot provide any services that require the client to remove their mask
— indoor fitness facilities like gyms and yoga studios and sport and recreation facilities like pools, arenas, tennis courts and large multipurpose recreation facilities can operate at 50 per cent capacity
— outdoor fitness and recreation businesses and organized clubs can operate with 25 people and physical distancing
— maximum 50 people for businesses and organizations offering a wide variety of indoor recreation activities, such as indoor play areas, arcades, climbing facilities, dance classes and music lessons
— museums and libraries can operate at 50 per cent capacity
— in private indoor workplaces such as offices or warehouses, masks are mandatory in all common areas, places where there is interaction with the public, areas with poor ventilation, and areas where distance cannot be maintained
— visitors, volunteers and designated care providers are allowed at long-term care facilities
— visitors are allowed at homes licensed by the Department of Community Services under the Homes for Special Care Act and residents can have community access
— all adult day programs for persons with disabilities funded by the Department of Community Services are open
— all adult day programs for seniors remain closed provincewide
Nova Scotians can find the restrictions that apply in their area at http://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/county-restrictions/lookup/
People who do not follow the gathering limit can be fined. The fine is now $2,000 for each person at an illegal gathering.
Additional Resources:
COVID-19 self-assessment: http://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/en
Nova Scotia coronavirus website: http://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/
Government of Canada: http://canada.ca/coronavirus
Government of Canada information line 1-833-784-4397 (toll-free)
The Mental Health Provincial Crisis Line is available 24/7 to anyone experiencing a mental health or addictions crisis, or someone concerned about them, by calling 1-888-429-8167 (toll-free)
Kids Help Phone is available 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free)
For help or information about domestic violence 24/7, call 1-855-225-0220 (toll-free)
Original HRM restrictions
Restrictions Return for Halifax Regional Municipality
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UPDATE: To update the news release sent Thursday, April 22, at about 3:45 p.m., to add Mount Uniacke to the list of communities that are under additional restrictions, add gaming closures to the restrictions, and clarify that regulated and unregulated health professions can operate following sector plans. This includes regulated health professions such as dental and physiotherapy and unregulated health professions such as massage therapy and other complementary or alternative medicine providers.
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Due to increasing cases of COVID-19, restrictions are returning in Halifax Regional Municipality and some communities on its borders, Premier Iain Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, announced today, April 22.
“We are using these restrictions as a circuit breaker to prevent our case count from increasing,” said Premier Rankin. “We are taking quick action to limit the opportunity for the virus to spread any further in local communities.”
The restrictions are effective Friday, April 23, at 8 a.m. and will remain in effect until at least May 20. They apply to all areas of Halifax Regional Municipality as well as these entire communities: Hubbards, Milford, Lantz, Elmsdale, Enfield, Mount Uniacke, South Uniacke, Ecum Secum and Trafalgar.
People should avoid traveling into and out of these areas unless it is absolutely necessary. Necessary travel would include for school, work, health care, legal requirements and family visitation under the purview of the Department of Community Services. Travel for shopping, social events, family visits, practices or rehearsals are not considered necessary.
“We understand this is disruptive, but it is necessary to regain control of the virus,” said Dr. Strang. “I’m asking all Nova Scotians, especially residents in these areas, to do their part to help us fight COVID-19 by supporting and following these restrictions.”
Most schools and all child care centres remain open. Beginning Friday, April 23, the following schools, which are in an area of increased COVID-19 activity, will close to students and move to at-home learning for a two-week period:
— Auburn Drive High family of schools
— Cole Harbour District High family of schools
— Dartmouth High family of schools
— École secondaire Mosaïque
— École du Carrefour
— École Bois-Joli
Staff will remain working from schools and use this time to prepare online instruction.
Families will receive more information from their schools or regional centre for education today.
All school gyms in Halifax Regional Municipality and the communities listed above will be closed for community use until at least May 20.
All other public schools in the province will continue with in-school learning. However, masks will be mandatory for all students starting Friday, April 23.
Following is a list of restrictions in Halifax Regional Municipality and the communities listed above:
— the gathering limit is five, both indoors and outdoors
— no social events, special events, festivals, arts/cultural events, sports events, faith gatherings, wedding receptions, or funeral visitation or receptions
— wedding and funeral ceremonies hosted by a recognized business or organization can have five people, plus officiants
— no meetings or training except mental health and addictions support groups, which can have 25 people with physical distancing and masks
— no sports practices, training, games, competitions or tournaments
— no arts and culture rehearsals or in-person performances
— virtual gatherings and performances can be held with a maximum of five people in one location
— restaurants and licensed establishments are closed to seated service
— Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax and First Nations gaming establishments must close
— licensed and unlicensed establishments cannot host activities such as darts, cards, pool and bowling
— retail businesses and malls can operate at 25 per cent capacity and must follow other public health measures
— personal services such as hair salons, barber shops and spas are closed
— indoor fitness facilities like gyms and yoga studios and sport and recreation facilities like pools, arenas, tennis courts and large multipurpose recreation facilities are closed
— outdoor fitness and recreation businesses can operate with 25 people and physical distancing
— businesses and organizations offering a wide variety of indoor recreation activities are closed, such as indoor play areas, arcades, climbing facilities, dance classes and music lessons
— museums, libraries and the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia are closed, but libraries can offer pick-up and drop-off of books and other materials Nova Scotia Art Gallery are closed, but libraries can offer pick-up and drop-off of books and other materials
— there will be no visitors or volunteers allowed inside long-term care facilities but designated care providers can continue to provide normal service and outdoor visits can be arranged
— all homes licensed by the Department of Community Service under the Homes for Special Care Act cannot have visitors and residents cannot have community access
— all adult day programs for persons with disabilities funded by the Department of Community Services will be closed except for scheduled vaccine clinics at three of these programs
— all adult day programs for seniors remain closed provincewide
— in private indoor workplaces such as offices or warehouses, masks are mandatory effective April 23 in all common areas, places where there is interaction with the public, areas with poor ventilation, and areas where distance cannot be maintained
Outdoor activities are encouraged for physical and mental well-being as long as gathering limits are followed. For example, trails, beaches and playgrounds are open.
Regulated health professions such as dental and physiotherapy and unregulated health professions such as massage therapy and other complementary or alternative medicine providers can remain open as long as they follow the prevention plan for their sector.
People who do not follow the gathering limit can be fined. The fine is $1,000 for each person at an illegal gathering.
Additional Resources:
The full list of communities where restrictions apply will be available by 8 a.m. Friday, April 23 at: http://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/county-restrictions/
People can look up an address to find out what restrictions apply in their area beginning at about 8 a.m. Friday, April 23 at: http://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/county-restrictions/lookup/
A list of Halifax Regional Centre for Education’s family of schools is available at: http://www.hrce.ca/about-hrce/school-administration/feeder-schools/family-schools
COVID-19 self-assessment: http://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/en
Nova Scotia coronavirus website: http://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/
Government of Canada: http://canada.ca/coronavirus
Government of Canada information line 1-833-784-4397 (toll-free)
The Mental Health Provincial Crisis Line is available 24/7 to anyone experiencing a mental health or addictions crisis, or someone concerned about them, by calling 1-888-429-8167 (toll-free)
Kids Help Phone is available 24/7 by calling 1-800-668-6868 (toll-free)
For help or information about domestic violence 24/7, call 1-855-225-0220 (toll-free)
