Nova Scotia university expels student who failed to self-isolate

Université Sainte-Anne has expelled a student who failed to self-isolate upon arriving in Nova Scotia and later tested positive for COVID-19.

On Sept. 1, the province confirmed a university student who travelled from outside Atlantic Canada had tested positive for the virus.

That person, a student at the Church Point, N.S., university, did not quarantine properly.

Université Sainte-Anne said last week Public Health told the school the risk of exposure to others was low and that no close contacts were identified.

In a release written in French and sent out on Friday, the university said its disciplinary committee met to decide whether or not the student violated the code of conduct.

Committee members found the student failed to respect Public Health's orders and violated the university's COVID-19 code of conduct. The release also said it was unacceptable for the student to create a situation that could have endangered others and to provide false information to the school.

The student has been expelled, but must finish their period of self-isolation.

The university also said while there are many sources of stress right now, each person has the choice to respond with understanding and compassion.

No new cases on Friday

Also Friday, Nova Scotia reported no new cases of COVID-19 for the fourth day in a row.

There are currently two active cases in the province.

In a release, Public Health said it is managing and investigating another case of COVID-19 that is in Nova Scotia, but was identified in another province.

That case is not being included in the total number of positive cases in Nova Scotia.

Marla MacInnis, spokesperson for the Department of Health and Wellness, said the person entered Nova Scotia with a work exception to the self-isolation order. 

"They had completed a COVID-19 test in another province and received the results once in Nova Scotia. Nova Scotia Public Health is completing contact tracing work now," she said Friday.

Labs with the Nova Scotia Health Authority completed 1,212 tests on Thursday.

The last positive case in the province was confirmed on Sunday. That individual is a home-care nurse in the central zone who previously tested positive for the virus.

Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, said on Wednesday that the person previously had COVID-19 in May and had recovered.

Strang said the most recent test result was inconclusive, but it was being treated as a new positive case.

Also Friday, the Nova Scotia Health Authority (NSHA) issued a warning of a potential COVID-19 exposure on a Calgary flight to Halifax. 

To date, there have been 1,086 positive cases of COVID-19 and 65 deaths in Nova Scotia.

The latest numbers from around the Atlantic bubble are:

• P.E.I. reported no new cases and eight active cases Friday.
• New Brunswick reported no new cases and two active cases Friday. One new case was reported on Thursday, but that person is a New Brunswick resident currently in Quebec.
• Newfoundland and Labrador reported no new cases and one active case Friday.

Symptoms

Anyone with one of the following symptoms of COVID-19 should go to this website to see if they should call 811 for further assessment:

• Fever.
• Cough or worsening of a previous cough.

Anyone with two or more of the following symptoms is also asked to visit the 811 website:

• Sore throat.
• Headache.
• Shortness of breath.
• Runny nose.