Today, October 22, Nova Scotia is reporting 23 new cases of COVID-19 and 26 recoveries.

There are 13 cases in Central Zone, six cases in Western Zone, three cases in Northern Zone and one case in Eastern Zone.

Five patients in a non-COVID unit at Valley Regional Hospital in Kentville have tested positive for COVID-19. One person is in intensive care at the hospital. Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) continues to test patients, staff and doctors identified as close contacts. As a precaution, NSHA has made testing available for staff and doctors on site who want to get tested.

On October 21, two 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

There have been 77 cases of COVID-19 with an episode date between October 14 and October 20. Of those:

— 23 (29.9 per cent) were fully vaccinated
— 3 (3.9 per cent) were partially vaccinated
— 51 (66.2 per cent) were unvaccinated

There have been 5,506 cases from March 15 to October 20. Of those:

— 324 (5.9 per cent) were fully vaccinated
— 353 (6.4 per cent) were partially vaccinated
— 4,829 (87.7 per cent) were unvaccinated

There were 304 people hospitalized. Of those:

— 11 (3.6 per cent) were fully vaccinated
— 30 (9.9 per cent) were partially vaccinated
— 263 (86.5 per cent) were unvaccinated

Thirty-two people died. Of those:

— 3 (9.4 per cent) were fully vaccinated
— 3 (9.4 per cent) were partially vaccinated
— 26 (81.3 per cent) were unvaccinated

As of today, Nova Scotia has 160 active cases of COVID-19. Of those, 11 people are in hospital, including four in ICU.

There were 26,384 rapid tests administered between October 15 and 21. This includes 2,775 rapid tests at the pop-up sites in Halifax and Dartmouth and 23,609 through the workplace screening program. Another 12,741 home rapid tests were distributed at the pop-up sites.

On October 21, NSHA’s labs completed 2,780 tests.

As of October 21, 1,558,391 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 753,331 Nova Scotians have received their second dose and 796 eligible Nova Scotians have received a third dose.

Since August 1, there have been 1,312 positive COVID-19 cases and four deaths. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 90. There are 1,148 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