Nova Scotia is announcing 67 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday.
There are now a total of 589 active cases. Twenty-two people are in hospital, including five in ICU.
57 – Central
3 – Eastern
3 – Northern
4 – Western
Due to the volume of testing in the province, the Nova Scotia Health Authority lab is experiencing a backlog in testing. About 45,000 tests are waiting to be processed and there is also a delay in public health’s case data entry.
“Thousands and thousands of Nova Scotians have done what we have asked – get tested. Because of that, there currently is a large backlog in the lab of about three days,” said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health. “We need to expect high case numbers in the days ahead as the lab and public health get caught up.”
The province and the Nova Scotia Health Authority developed a plan to shift the COVID-19 testing strategy for a short period of time to address the testing backlog.
“This is a short-term issue, and we have a plan to clear up the backlog,” said Premier Iain Rankin. “Following the restrictions and public health measures are critical to protect you, your loved ones and the health system from being overwhelmed.”
In the interim, most Nova Scotians are encouraged to use pop-up testing sites instead of booking a COVID-19 lab test over the next few days. The following people can and should continue to book tests:
— anyone with symptoms
— anyone who has been notified that they are a close contact of a known case
— anyone who has been at an exposure location
— anyone who has travelled outside Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador
Anyone else who already has an appointment booked should cancel it following instructions in their confirmation email.
Efforts are being made to increase rapid testing capacity around the province.
One of the cases in Central Zone is a staff member at Clarmar Residential Care Facility, a residential care home in Dartmouth. This is the second case involving staff at the facility.
The total number of tests and number of tests completed at the Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs on April 29 is not available.
More than 312,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, just over 36,000 have received their second dose.
There were 31,040 tests administered between April 23 and 29 at the rapid-testing pop-up sites in Dartmouth, Halifax, Sackville and Sydney.
