(Halifax) Nova Scotia was reporting 75 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, as a province-wide lockout came into effect recently in hopes of preventing an outbreak of infection.
This new daily toll of 75 cases is slightly lower than the record 96 cases reported on Tuesday. Officials said 67 of the 75 new infections were in the Halifax area. Six cases have been reported in the eastern region, while there is a new case in each of the western and northern health zones. Nova Scotia recorded 489 active infections on Wednesday.
The newly identified infections included one employee at the Northwood Long-Term Care Facility in Halifax and another at the Quest Regional Rehabilitation Center in Lower Sackville. A case was also reported at the Straight Area Education Recreation Center in Port Hawkesbury.
The two-week lockdown, which came into force on Wednesday morning, includes the closure of all schools and all non-essential internal services in the province.
The Royal Canadian Navy and Army also deployed about 75 personnel to arm the screening centers on Wednesday. This support was requested by the provincial government.
Lieutenant Commander Brian Owens said the military is spread across the province, including two locations in the Halifax area: the Canada Games Center in Halifax and the Zatzman Sportsplex in Dartmouth. Teams will also be stationed at testing centers in Memberau First Nation, True, Wolfville and Yarmouth.
Lull in New Brunswick
In New Brunswick, eight new cases of COVID-19 were reported on Wednesday: four in the Fredericton area, two in the Edmondston area and two in the Moncton area.
The Health Department also specifies that a small group of people at Fredericton High School may have been exposed to the virus from an outside school source. The school remains open, but staff and students are encouraged to look for symptoms and self-isolate as necessary.
Eight cases have been linked to the outbreak at Maggie House, now the residence of the University of New Brunswick’s Fredericton campus.
The number of active cases in New Brunswick is now 122 and four patients are hospitalized, including two in intensive care.
“Brazilian version” in NL.
Newfoundland and Labrador, for their part, reported their first case of a worrisome version of the first identified “P.1” coronavirus in Brazil.
Health Chief Medical Officer Janice FitzGerald said on Wednesday that 46 cases of COVID-19 had been identified in the province this month, most of them of concern.
In these 6 cases, the version was the case of “P.11”, as well as the first case of the version “B.1116” in this province, which first appeared in India.
Fitzgerald on Wednesday reported four new COVID-19 cases related to travel. He believes that Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the few places in Canada without community broadcasting.
There were 27 active cases in the province on Wednesday. Officials said that so far, 34% of residents over the age of 16 have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
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