Today, October 18, Nova Scotia is reporting 72 new cases of COVID-19 and 63 recoveries.

Thirty-one new cases were reported on October 16; 19 new cases on October 17; and 22 new cases are being reported today, October 18.

There are 58 cases in Central Zone, eight cases in Northern Zone, five cases in Western Zone and one case in Eastern Zone.

There is community spread in Central Zone, primarily among people aged 20 to 40 who are unvaccinated and participating in social activities.

Over the past three days, eight 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 208 active cases of COVID-19. Of those, 15 people are in hospital, including three in ICU.

Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 3,557 tests on October 15; 2,755 tests on October 16; and 2,792 tests on October 17.

As of October 17, 1,547,472 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 747,632 Nova Scotians have received their second dose.

Since August 1, there have been 1,253 positive COVID-19 cases and four deaths. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 90. There are 1,041 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 October 31, 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)

Source: Release