Nova Scotia reporting 182 new COVID-19 cases Thursday
There are now 45 people in hospital with COVID-19, including 9 in intensive care
Nova Scotia reported a new daily high of 182 cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, for a total of 1,309 active cases in the province.
There are 155 new cases in the central health zone, 16 in the eastern zone, four in the western zone and seven in the northern zone.
There are now 45 people in hospital, including nine in intensive care.
The new cases reported Thursday were identified among 7,733 tests completed the day before.
The province won't be providing a COVID-19 briefing Thursday, but an update is scheduled for Friday at 1 p.m. AT.
Backlog of data entry
Nova Scotia reported high daily case numbers this week, which has been attributed to a backlog of thousands of unprocessed tests.
The backlog was resolved as of Wednesday, but work is still being done to clear a backlog in case contact and data entry.
On Wednesday, Nova Scotia reported 175 cases, which Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief medical officer of health, said was a reflection of the delay in data entry.
In a news release, Premier Iain Rankin urged Nova Scotians to heed public health advice to avoid gatherings and stay at home.
"The third wave is driven by variants and they spread faster and easier," he said.
Nova Scotia's vaccination drive continues with 347,283 doses of the vaccine administered, including 37,346 second doses as of May 5.
Restrictions expected to continue
Nova Scotia has been under a strict two-week lockdown since April 28, which closed all public schools and non-essential businesses.
Although restrictions were scheduled to lift next week, Strang said Tuesday it's a "safe assumption" restrictions will be extended.
Rankin also alluded to possible stronger restrictions after cabinet on Thursday.
"This is different than the first wave and second wave with the variants," he said. "And if Dr. Strang and Public Health have other restrictions they think will help, I won't hesitate to put them in."
Atlantic Canada case numbers
- New Brunswick reported 11 new cases and one new death on Thursday. Ten of the new cases are workers who are isolating outside the province. There's now 142 active cases. Six people are in hospital, two in intensive care.
- Newfoundland and Labrador reported six new COVID-19 cases Thursday. There are 58 active cases in the province. Two people are in hospital with the virus.
- P.E.I. announced two new cases Thursday and the number of active cases is now nine.