6 new cases of COVID-19 detected in N.S. during weekend testing

Nova Scotia is reporting six new cases of COVID-19 from testing done over the weekend. The province has 27 active cases.

Two cases were reported for Sunday. One was in the western health zone and was related to travel outside the region while the other was in the eastern zone and is under investigation. 

The four newest cases reported for Monday are in the central zone. One is related to travel outside the region, one was a close contact of a previously reported case and the other two are being investigated. 

A news release from the province on Monday says none of the new cases are connected to Churchill Academy in Dartmouth. 

A total of seven cases have been connected to the private school. The last day of classes at the school was Dec. 18 and the school does not plan to reopen until Jan. 11.

The province says Public Health has been in contact with the school community and has arranged testing for all staff and students.  

Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 969 tests on Saturday and 1,077 on Sunday. 

Impact of the holidays 

"I'm encouraged by the numbers we are seeing, but we still haven't seen the full impact of the holidays," said Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief medical officer of health.

He is urging the public to remain cautious and follow all public health measures. 

Because of low case numbers over the holidays, dine-in services at restaurants and bars in HRM are allowed to resume on Monday, one week earlier than originally planned when the restrictions came into effect in December.

A full list of potential exposure sites in the province can be found here.

More than 2,700 doses of vaccine administered

As of Monday, Nova Scotia had administered 2,720 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to acute care health-care workers. The first Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines arrived in Nova Scotia on Dec. 15 and were administered on Dec. 16.

Pfizer-BioNTech recommends a second dose is administered three weeks after the first dose, and a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Wellness told CBC Monday that it plans to follow that timeline. Second doses will start to be delivered on Wednesday. 

The first doses of the Moderna vaccine arrived on Dec. 30 in a batch of 3,700. Those vaccines, which do not require the same extreme cold temperatures as Pfizer/BioNTech, are being transported to clinics around the province. Spokesperson Marla MacInnis said more details would be shared at a press briefing Tuesday.

A total of about 9,700 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been delivered to Nova Scotia so far.

Atlantic Canada case numbers

The latest COVID-19 numbers from the Atlantic provinces are:

• Newfoundland and Labrador reported one new case on Monday. There are 10 active cases and one person is in hospital.
• New Brunswick reported 17 new cases on Monday for 55 active cases. One person is hospitalized and in intensive care.
• P.E.I. is reporting no new cases and six active cases.

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