**** HEALTH/WELLNESS Media Release
34 New Cases of COVID-19, 18 Recoveries, Outbreak at St. Francis Xavier University
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Today, December 8, Nova Scotia is reporting 34 new cases of COVID-19 and 18 recoveries.
There are 14 cases in Eastern Zone, 13 cases in Central Zone, six cases in Northern Zone and one case in Western Zone. There is a 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.
Public health is also reporting an outbreak at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish (Eastern Zone). Twenty-one people have tested positive for COVID-19. Today’s case count includes the 12 cases announced by the university Tuesday, December 7. Some cases connected to this outbreak came in after the cut-off for reporting and will be included in Thursday’s case and COVID-19 data dashboard updates.
Public health is working with the university to prevent further spread. Increased public health measures and restrictions are in place.
On December 7, one school was notified of an exposure(s) at 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. A list of schools with exposures is available online: https://backtoschool.ednet.ns.ca/school-exposures .
As of today, Nova Scotia has 162 active cases of COVID-19. Of those, 11 people are in hospital, including four in ICU.
On December 7, Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 3,565 tests.
As of December 7, 1,673,788 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 796,117 Nova Scotians have received their second dose, and 34,366 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. Those will be removed over the coming days for consistency with the total number of doses administered in the province. This will not change Nova Scotia’s vaccination rate on the COVID-19 data dashboard.
Since August 1, there have been 2,585 positive COVID-19 cases and 16 deaths. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 90. There are 2,407 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)
