Nova Scotia reports 11 new COVID-19 cases on Monday

Nova Scotia is reporting 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, as Newfoundland and Labrador and P.E.I are exiting the Atlantic bubble for at least two weeks as cases rise in Atlantic Canada.

All new 11 cases are in the central health region. Eight are connected to previously reported cases and three are under investigation.

One of these new cases was detected at the rapid COVID-19 screening pilot program for bar staff and patrons on Grafton Street in Halifax on Saturday night.

There are currently 51 active cases in Nova Scotia and 1,143 tests were completed in the province on Sunday.

Monday evening, the Nova Scotia Health Authority issued 16 more potential exposure notifications. The active exposure sites in the greater Halifax area are listed here.

Starting on Tuesday in P.E.I. and on Wednesday in N.L., people coming from any of the Atlantic provinces will have to quarantine for 14 days on arrival.

Those coming into Nova Scotia and New Brunswick from the other Atlantic provinces are still not required to self-isolate.

N.S. purchases computers to help with at-home learning

The Nova Scotia government announced Monday it's using $21.5 million in federal COVID-19 relief money to purchase 32,000 new computers for students and upgrade servers and Wi-Fi systems in schools.

The first 24,000 have already been ordered and are expected to arrive by next month. The rest are to come in the new year.

The news comes several days after two schools were shut down and moved to at-home learning for two weeks due to several COVID-19 cases.

The new computers are in addition to the 14,000 devices the province has already purchased.

Education Minister Zach Churchill told CBC that some of those have been deployed already, including in the two schools that have been shut down.

'Remain vigilant, remain cautious,' says education minister

He said the students at those schools — Auburn Drive High School and Graham Creighton Junior High — are receiving other supports as well.

"They're getting support from their teachers, from their support staff, they have access to the devices and all the online learning materials that they need to continue on with learning from home," he said.

"Everyone's anxious about the pandemic ... we have to use that anxiety to our advantage, remain vigilant, remain cautious and all do our part to make sure that we're following health and safety protocols that will minimize the risk of transmitting this virus between one another."

COVID cases in the Atlantic provinces

The latest numbers from the Atlantic provinces are:

• New Brunswick reported 15 new cases on Monday and has 89 active cases. The province also announced another death relating to the virus, the seventh in New Brunswick. Public Health is asking anyone who has travelled from Halifax back to New Brunswick to self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms for 14 days as a result of community spread in Halifax.
• Newfoundland and Labrador reported two new cases on Monday and the province now has 23 active cases. Effective on Wednesday, anyone arriving in N.L. from within the Maritimes will have to self-isolate for 14 days.
• P.E.I. reported one new case on Monday and has two active cases. Starting at 12:01 a.m. on Tuesday, anyone travelling to P.E.I. from other Atlantic provinces will have to quarantine for two weeks. Anyone who has returned from Nova Scotia or New Brunswick in the past week should limit their contact with others.

Symptoms

Anyone with one of the following symptoms should visit the COVID-19 self-assessment website or call 811:

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

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

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