Earlier today, Nova Scotia reported 52 new cases of COVID-19 and 19 recoveries, bringing the
provincial total of active cases to 194, with nine people in hospital, including four in ICU.
There are 29 cases in Central Zone, 18 cases in Eastern Zone, three cases in Northern Zone and two cases in Western Zone. There is a cluster of cases in a localized community in Northern Zone and there is also evidence of limited community spread in Halifax and parts of northern Nova Scotia.
There are 38 new cases being reported today, and 59 in total so far, related to the outbreak at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. So far, those infected are experiencing very mild symptoms because the cases are mostly young people who are fully vaccinated. We expect more new cases in the coming days. The university reports that about 95 per cent of the student body is vaccinated.
There has been no evidence of spread in classrooms or residences to date, and no secondary transmission in the community. Currently, the investigation has found the majority of spread happened in smaller, private gatherings. Most cases are related to those who attended activities December 2-5, both on and off campus. There is an ongoing enforcement investigation.
The province stated the university, students and community have been very cooperative and are complying with public health investigation advice, including testing. To help with finding cases, Nova Scotia Health’s testing centre has increased its hours of operation, the Public Health Mobile Unit will be in the community over the next several days and take-home test kits are being distributed by Nova Scotia Health and the university.