**** HEALTH/WELLNESS Media Release
61 New Cases of COVID-19, 31 Recoveries
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Today, November 30, Nova Scotia is reporting 61 new cases of COVID-19 and 31 recoveries.
There are 33 cases in Northern Zone, 24 cases in Central Zone and four cases in Western Zone. There is a new cluster of cases in a localized community in Northern Zone and there is also evidence of limited community spread in Halifax and parts of northern Nova Scotia.
“While there is a low level of ongoing community transmission in the northern part of Nova Scotia, the higher case numbers we’re seeing in the area yesterday and today are associated with a cluster of cases in a defined group of largely unvaccinated individuals,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. “They are co-operating with local public health and the cases appear to be contained within this group.”
There are no new cases at the East Cumberland Lodge long-term care home in Pugwash. A total of 32 residents and 11 staff members at the home have tested positive, and four of the infected residents have died. Public and occupational health are working with the facility to prevent further spread. Increased public health measures and restrictions are in place.
On November 29, four schools were notified of an exposure(s) 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. A list of schools with exposures is available online: https://backtoschool.ednet.ns.ca/school-exposures
As of today, Nova Scotia has 200 active cases of COVID-19. Of those, 13 people are in hospital, including four in ICU.
On November 29, Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 2,999 tests.
As of November 29, 1,635,675 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 790,742 Nova Scotians have received their second dose, and 20,858 eligible Nova Scotians have received a third dose.
Since August 1, there have been 2,392 positive COVID-19 cases and 16 deaths. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 90. There are 2,176 resolved cases. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.
Testing advice:
Nova Scotians with or without symptoms can book a test at: https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/en for COVID-19 for COVID-19 testing centres across the province. Those eligible to receive asymptomatic testing are listed at: https://www.nshealth.ca/visit-covid-19-testing-site . Those with no symptoms who do not meet the criteria are encouraged to use one of the rapid testing pop-up sites if they want to be tested. Some public health mobile unit clinics also offer drop-in testing; this will be noted in promotions.
Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms is advised to self-isolate and book a COVID-19 test.
Anyone advised by public health that they were a close contact needs to complete a full 14-day quarantine, regardless of test results, unless they are fully vaccinated. If they are fully vaccinated at least 14 days before the exposure date, they do not need to self-isolate as long as they are not experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms. They should still get tested and should monitor for symptoms up to 14 days after the exposure date. If symptoms develop, they should get tested and self-isolate until they receive a negative test result.
Symptoms and self-assessment:
Nova Scotians should visit https://covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/ to do a self-assessment if in the past 48 hours they have had or are currently experiencing:
— cough (new or worsening)
Or two or more of the following symptoms:
— fever (chills, sweats)
— headache
— runny nose or nasal congestion
— sore throat
— shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
People should call 811 if they cannot access the online self-assessment or wish to speak with a nurse about their symptoms.
Anyone with symptoms should immediately self-isolate and book a test.
Quick Facts:
— a state of emergency was declared under the Emergency Management Act on March 22, 2020, and has been extended to December 12, 2021
Additional Resources:
Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information, handwashing posters and fact sheets at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus
More information on COVID-19 case data, testing and vaccines is available at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/data/
More information about public health text notifications of positive COVID-19 cases and close contacts is available here: https://www.nshealth.ca/news/public-health-begins-contacting-positive-covid-19-cases-close-contacts-text-message
Government of Canada: https://canada.ca/coronavirus or 1-833-784-4397 (toll-free)
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Fourth Update on Vaccine Mandates
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Today, November 30, is the last day for employees under two vaccination mandates to provide their employers proof of vaccination for COVID-19.
Under both the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for key sectors and the provincial civil service vaccination directive, all employees are required to have at least a first dose of vaccine by November 30. Those who are partially vaccinated may be subject to other health and safety measures, including testing. Those who do not have a first dose by today will face employment consequences, including unpaid leave, which will begin tomorrow, December 1.
Latest data shows 99 per cent of frontline healthcare, continuing care, paramedics, education employees’ and others in the COVID-19 vaccine mandate have at least one dose of vaccine. It also shows 99 per cent of provincial government employees have at least one dose.
“Nova Scotians are showing they care about the people they serve by getting vaccinated and keeping them safe,” said Premier Tim Houston. “I’m told there will be few disruptions to service as vaccination rates are very high.”
Government is working with all organizations to monitor and address any impacts. All organizations have contingency plans, but most are anticipating they will not be needed.
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development says there may be some disruption to school busing in Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE) and small pockets in other education regions. School regions are working with their bus providers and staff to mitigate impacts to students and families. In HRCE, drivers may be assigned to new routes and one driver may need to cover an additional route before and after school, leading to potential delays for students. Families will be notified if there is a change or delay to their child’s bus route.
The Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care is working closely with long-term care facilities and home-care agencies to ensure residents and seniors continue to get the care they need. While vaccination rates are high across the sector, existing workforce shortages mean that even a small number of unvaccinated staff could result in a facility or agency not being able to accept new residents or seniors. Contingency plans could include using employment agencies and travelling nursing staff and offering part-time and casual staff full-time employment.
Most sectors or organizations under the COVID-19 vaccination mandate are reporting first or fully vaccinated rates of:
— Nova Scotia Health Authority: 96.5 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 95 per cent on November 24), 3.1 per cent partially vaccinated, 18,726 total employees with 91.3 per cent reporting (up from 90 per cent)
— IWK Health Centre: 99.2 per cent (no change), 0.6 per cent partially vaccinated, 3,573 total employees with 99.4 per cent reporting (no change)
— long-term care: 96.1 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 95 per cent), 2.1 per cent partially vaccinated, 11,027 total employees with 98.0 per cent reporting (up from 95 per cent)
— home care: 95.3 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 95), three per cent partially vaccinated, 3,821 total employees with 97.1 per cent reporting (up from 97 per cent)
— education: 97.8 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 97 per cent), 1.3 per cent partially vaccinated, 18,726 total employees with 96.4 per cent reporting (up from 90 per cent)
— Emergency Health Services (EHS): 99.7 per cent fully vaccinated (no change), 0.8 per cent partially vaccinated, 1,353 total employees with 100 per cent reporting (up from 92 per cent)
— adult day programs (Seniors and Long-term Care): 94.6 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 94 per cent), no employees partially vaccinated, 76 total employees with 97.4 per cent reporting
— correctional services: 98.7 per cent fully vaccinated (no change), 0.8 per cent partially vaccinated, 527 total employees with 99.4 per cent reporting
— Community Services (Disability Support Program and Child and Youth Caring Program): 93.9 per cent fully vaccinated (up from 93 per cent), 4.4 per cent partially vaccinated, 8,269 total employees with 97.2 per cent reporting
— daycares: 94.5 per cent full vaccinated (up from 93 per cent), 3.8 per cent partially vaccinated, with 97.1 per cent of facilities reporting
— Hearing and Speech NS: 99.4 per cent fully vaccinated (no change), no employees partially vaccinated, 173 total employees with 100 per cent reporting.
Twenty exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate were granted:
— two granted of 134 human rights exemption requests
— 18 granted of 49 medical exemption requests
The data being reported is as of November 29. Data collection continues today until 11:59 p.m. and a final update on the mandates will be provided by the end of the week.
No further information will be available until the final update.
Quick Facts:
— under the COVID-19 vaccination mandate employees are required to have at least a first dose of vaccine by November 30, with a requirement to show proof of full vaccination up to 70 days after their first dose; those who are partially vaccinated may be subjected to other health and safety measures, including testing; those who do not have a first dose by November 30 will be placed on unpaid leave
— under the provincial civil service vaccination directive, employees must have at first dose of the vaccine by November 30 with a requirement to show proof of full vaccination up to 56 days after their first dose; those who do not have a first dose by November 30 will face employment consequences up to and including unpaid leave
— 84.6 per cent of Nova Scotians have at least one dose of vaccine with 81.3 per cent fully vaccinated
Additional Resources:
Information on COVID-19 vaccination and how to get vaccinated: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/vaccine/
More information on the COVID-19 vaccination mandate: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20211105004
More information on the provincial civil service vaccination mandate: https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20211006005
