Nova Scotia reports 14 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday

The province is reporting 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday after completing 3,644 tests.

Province now has 125 active cases; no one in hospital related to virus

Vernon Ramesar · CBC News · Posted: Nov 28, 2020 4:06 PM EST | Last Updated: November 29, 2020

Twelve of the new cases were in the central health zone with one case each in the northern and western health zones. (Shared Health/Province of Manitoba)

Nova Scotia reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, bringing the province's total active cases to 125.

Twelve of the new cases are in the central health zone, with one case each in the northern and western zones.

Nova Scotia labs completed 3,644 tests Friday.

An additional 670 tests were administered at a rapid-testing site in Dartmouth. There were three positive results.

Those testing positive in rapid testing were directed to self-isolate and have been referred for a standard test.

A news release said that the province's case data website would not be updated Saturday because of technical difficulties. No one is in hospital in Nova Scotia related to the virus.

The province also announced five new exposure sites Saturday, including businesses in Sydney and Truro.

A full list of exposures in the province can be found here.

Premier Stephen McNeil continued to warn people about non-essential travel.

"Black Friday weekend usually draws crowds from across the province to the Halifax area to shop, but that must change this year," McNeil said in the release.

New restrictions in effect

New restrictions came into effect Thursday in most of the Halifax Regional Municipality and parts of Hants County.

The restrictions include stopping dine-in service at bars and restaurants and closing gyms, libraries, museums and casinos for at least the next two weeks. Masks are also mandatory in common areas of multi-unit dwellings like apartments and condos.

A list of what's open and closed in the Halifax region can be found here.

Across the province, visitations to long-term care facilities are no longer allowed unless the person is a volunteer or designated caregiver.

All other Atlantic provinces, most recently New Brunswick, have brought back mandatory 14-day self-isolation for travellers. But as of Thursday evening, Nova Scotia's policy on regional travel remained unchanged.

"We respect the decision of New Brunswick. At this time, Nova Scotia is focused on the new measures that came into effect [Thursday], including the strong recommendation from Public Health to avoid non-essential travel," government spokesperson Marla MacInnis said in an email.

COVID cases in the Atlantic provinces

The latest numbers from the Atlantic provinces are:

New Brunswick reported four new cases Saturday and has a total of 111 active cases. Effective midnight Thursday, anyone arriving in the province from all other provinces, including the Atlantic provinces, must self-isolate for 14 days.
Newfoundland and Labrador reported two new cases Saturday and has 32 active cases. Effective Wednesday, anyone arriving in the province from within the Maritimes will have to self-isolate for 14 days.
P.E.I. reported two new cases Saturday, and has four active cases. One of the cases announced Saturday is a high school student. As of Tuesday, anyone travelling to P.E.I. from other Atlantic provinces will have to quarantine for two weeks.