5 new COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia bring total to 11

Five new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Nova Scotia, bringing the total active cases into double digits for the first time since June.

Province hits double-digit active cases for first time since early June

CBC News · Posted: Oct 31, 2020 11:59 AM EDT | Last Updated: October 31, 2020

A nurse gets a swab ready to perform a test on a patient at a drive-in COVID-19 clinic in Montreal, on Oct. 21. (Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press)

Five new COVID-19 cases have been reported in Nova Scotia, bringing the total active cases into double digits for the first time since June.

Of the five new cases, two are in the Western Zone, two are in the Northern Zone and one in the Central Zone, according to a release from the province on Saturday.

Four are related to travel outside Atlantic Canada and one is related to a previous case. All have been self-isolating.

There are now 11 active cases of the virus in the province.

People should avoid non-essential travel: Strang

"These new cases show that with the second COVID-19 wave happening, travel outside the Atlantic Bubble is more risky," Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health for Nova Scotia, said in the release.

"Our recent new cases are all related to travel. Nova Scotians should reduce non-essential travel outside of the Atlantic Bubble. In addition, having all Nova Scotians following the public health measures reduces the chance of the virus spreading when it does get here."

The Nova Scotia Health Authority completed 652 Nova Scotia tests on Friday, including the five positive cases.

To date, Nova Scotia has had 1,109 positive cases and 65 deaths. No one is in hospital related to the virus.

Recent possible exposures

Nova Scotia Health also warned the public Friday of three potential exposures to COVID-19 in the last week. Two were on recent Air Canada flights to Halifax. The other was at a gas station restaurant just outside Debert, N.S.

The last time Nova Scotia saw 10 or more cases was on June 1, when the province had 13.

The latest numbers from around the Atlantic bubble are:

New Brunswick reported one new case Saturday and has 38 active cases. A school in Woodstock confirmed a case on Saturday, the first in a school in that area.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported one new presumptive positive case Saturday. The man, a resident of Newfoundland and Labrador, is between 20-39 years old and works at the Voisey's Bay mine site in northern Labrador. He is self-isolating at the mine site, and anyone considered a close contact is being advised to quarantine. Since the case is a presumptive positive, it does not yet count toward the province's total. There are three active cases in the province as of Saturday.
P.E.I. is reporting no active cases.