Nova Scotia has announced 26 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the provincial total to 262.
Cases have been identified in individuals under 10 and over 90, including two staff at Nova Scotia hospitals and two long-term care employees.
Six people are now in hospital with the virus and 53 have recovered.
Premier Stephen McNeil and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, are scheduled to provide an update on the coronavirus outbreak at 3 p.m. Sunday. Video will be livestreamed in this story.
Two new cases among long-term care employees
Two of the new cases include staff at two long-term care facilities.
The individuals are employees at Arborstone Enhanced Care in Halifax and Harris Hall in Dartmouth, which are both owned by Shannex.
An additional case was confirmed at Shannex’s Jubilee Hall-Concorde Hall in Quispamsis, N.B.
Last week, Shannex announced one case among employees at its private retirement-living community in Dartmouth. An employee at the R.K MacDonald Nursing Home in Antigonish also tested positive for COVID-19 last week.
It was also confirmed last week that three staff and two residents at the Magnolia resident care home in Enfield have also tested positive.
Health-care workers exposed
Two cases of COVID-19 have been identified among staff at Nova Scotia hospitals — the IWK Health Centre in Halifax and Aberdeen Hospital in New Glasgow — and some health-care workers have been ordered to self-isolate because of close contact with their infected colleagues.
A spokesperson for the IWK said the infected staff member is a health-care worker, and hospital staff were investigating any possible exposure to patients.
The case at the IWK is not expected to impact patient care or service delivery.
The Nova Scotia Health Authority has not released the role of the staff member from Aberdeen Hospital who tested positive for the virus, but some patients could have been exposed. The NSHA is working to identify and contact any affected patients.
Neither health authority would say how many staff were under self-isolation orders. They said affected staff were being tested.
Service disruptions at Aberdeen Hospital
The NSHA said the case at Aberdeen Hospital has caused a stoppage of all surgical, and labour and delivery services.
Patients with urgent and emergency orthopedic needs are being sent to the Halifax Infirmary, and emergency general surgery cases are being diverted to Colchester East Hants Health Centre in Truro.
Labour and delivery care will be transferred from Aberdeen to Colchester East Hants or St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish, depending on the patient’s location.
The health authorities confirmed the cases Sunday, two weeks after the premier declared a state of emergency, ordering citizens to stay home as much as possible and to keep a distance of two metres from other people.
Under the public health measures, police have the authority to ticket anyone who fails to abide by physical distancing orders or who continues to use parks, trails and beaches, most of which are now closed.
In his near-daily COVID-19 updates, McNeil has been doling out stern warnings for the public to abide by the restrictions, calling those who flout the orders “reckless.”
Dozens of tickets issued for flouting public health orders
Last week, McNeil ordered police to increase enforcement. Ahead of the weekend, he appealed for people to “stay the blazes home.”
The plea struck a chord with many, who turned the phrase into memes, songs and merchandise, but it apparently didn’t affect everyone. On Saturday, Halifax police told CBC News they’d handed out dozens of tickets for violations under the Emergency Management Act and the Health Protection Act.
Fines for those violations range from almost $700 for individuals to up to $10,000 for businesses.
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