One New Case of COVID-19, Five Recoveries

Today, July 13, Nova Scotia is reporting one new case of COVID-19 and five recoveries.

The case is in Western Zone and is a close contact of a previously reported case.

All four health zones continue to be closely monitored for community spread.

“Tomorrow, we enter Phase 4 of our reopening plan,” said Premier Iain Rankin. “We are one step closer to living normally with COVID-19. In order for us to further ease restrictions and start to live more freely, we need everyone to get their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.”

As of today, Nova Scotia has 31 active cases of COVID-19. Of those, two people are in hospital COVID-19 units, including one in ICU.

Two cases that were previously reported have been removed from the cumulative case count.

On July 12, Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 1,832 tests.

As of July 12, 1,134,591 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 415,523 Nova Scotians have received their second dose.

“Nearly 43 per cent of eligible Nova Scotians have received their second dose of the vaccine,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health. “We need to reach 75 per cent of eligible Nova Scotians before we can begin to lift public health measures like masking and distancing. If you haven’t already done so, book or reschedule your second dose appointment as soon as you can.”

Since April 1, there have been 4,128 positive COVID-19 cases and 26 deaths. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 90. There are 4,071 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 primary assessment centres across the province. Those with no symptoms are encouraged to use one of the primary assessment centres with drop-in testing, pop-up sites, or public health mobile units if they want to be tested.

More information on testing can be found at https://www.nshealth.ca/coronavirustesting

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 mild symptoms, including:

• fever (i.e. chills/sweats) or cough (new or worsening)
• sore throat
• runny nose/nasal congestion
• headache
• shortness of breath/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 extended to July 25, 2021

Additional Resources:

More information on COVID-19 case data, testing and vaccines is available at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/data/

Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information, handwashing posters and fact sheets at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus

Nova's Scotia's five-phase reopening plan, announced May 28, 2021: https://novascotia.ca/reopening-plan/

Businesses and other organizations can find information to help them safely reopen and operate at: https://novascotia.ca/reopening-nova-scotia

A list of primary assessment locations, including locations with drop-in testing, is available online at: https://www.nshealth.ca/coronavirustesting#assessment-centre-locations

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

More information on what is considered essential travel is available here: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/travel/#from-outside-atlantic-canada

Government of Canada: https://canada.ca/coronavirus or 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)

Anyone needing help with a non-crisis mental health or addiction concern can call Community Mental Health and Addictions at 1-855-922-1122 (toll-free) weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

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)