What’s new?

To monitor data on a daily basis, see the Nova Scotia and Canadian data pages.

• Five new cases of COVID-19 were reported in the central zone: two cases are in Auburn Drive High School in Cole Harbour, N.S. and Graham Creighton Junior High School in Cherry Brook, N.S. (until Dec. 7, both of these schools will be closed and students will study online); three cases are under investigation for suspected community spread
• The main driver for new infections is young people who are not following public health measures
• New gathering limits will apply starting Monday, Nov. 23 in Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM), from the Lunenburg County line to Porters Lake. East of Porters Lake to Ecum Secum is exempt. The limits will apply to the Enfield and Mount Uniacke areas in both HRM and Hants County. The limits will not apply in Elmsdale and communities north of Elmsdale
  • No more than five people, down from 10, can gather in a close social group without physical distancing
  • A household may have more than five members, but they may only go outside the home in groups of five or less
  • Households can only have a maximum of five visitors at a time
  • On-site gatherings at long-term care facilities can have a maximum of five people (including residents and staff), down from 10
  • Adult day programs for seniors who live in the community are suspended
  • No more than 25 people, down from 50, can gather with physical distancing for informal indoor and outdoor social events, like a neighbourhood street party
  • Indoor events run by a recognized business or organization can have 50% of the venue’s capacity to a maximum of 100 people with physical distancing, down from 200
  • Outdoor events run by a recognized business or organization can have 150 people with physical distancing, down from 250
• Bar staff in peninsular Halifax will be voluntarily tested over seven days starting early next week. Staff will receive information from their employer on how to arrange testing
• The following restrictions for long-term care facilities will apply across the province starting Nov. 23 at 12:01 a.m. to Dec. 21:
  • Residents can only leave their facilities for medical or dental appointments
  • A registered designated caregiver can take a resident for a sightseeing car ride but they cannot include additional passengers or stops for shopping or visits, or use drive-thrus
  • A facility can continue sightseeing outings using their vehicles, but physical distancing is required, no other passengers are permitted in the vehicle and no stops can be made, including use of drive-thrus
• Starting Nov. 23 at 12:01 a.m., full-service restaurants and licensed establishments across the province must collect contact information from each patron, including date and time of visit, name and phone number
• Non-essential travellers from outside Atlantic Canada must self-isolate in a completely separate space with no contact or shared living spaces with the rest of the household. Otherwise, the entire household must self-isolate or the traveller must self-isolate in another location
• The following situations are now recognized as necessary travel and do not require the entire household to self-isolate with the traveller as long as a strict protocol for shared spaces is followed:
  • People who must travel for work that cannot be done virtually and don’t meet the criteria for rotational workers
  • People with legal custody arrangements that require parents or children to travel for visits
  • People receiving essential, specialized health-care treatment that is not available in Atlantic Canada
  • People participating in an essential legal proceeding outside Atlantic Canada when virtual attendance is not possible
  • Students studying outside Atlantic Canada whose primary or family residence is in Nova Scotia
• There were several new potential COVID-19 exposures in HRM (see the full list of previously announced exposures here):
  • Your Father’s Moustache (5686 Spring Garden Rd., Halifax) on Nov. 13 from 6-9 p.m.
  • La Frasca Cibi & Vini (5650 Spring Garden Rd., Halifax) on Nov. 13 from 7-11 p.m.
  • Moxie’s Grill and Bar (182 Chain Lake Dr., Bayers Lake) on Nov. 15 from 7:30-9:30 p.m.
  • Winners (206 Chain Lake Dr., Bayers Lake) on Nov. 15 from 3:45-5 p.m.
  • Telus (120 Susie Lake Cres., Bayers Lake) on Nov. 15 from 3-4:30 p.m.
  • Chatters Hair Salon (194 Chain Lake Dr., Bayers Lake) on Nov. 15 from 2:45-4 p.m.
  • Ironstone Strength & Conditioning (2631 King St., Halifax) on Nov. 16 from 5:45-7:45 a.m.
  • GoodLife Fitness (41 Peakview Way, Bedford) on Nov. 15 from 7-9:30 a.m., Nov. 16 from 8-10:30 a.m. and Nov. 17 from 8-10:30 a.m.
  • Superstore (1650 Bedford Hwy, Bedford) on Nov. 18 from 2-3:30 p.m.
• New modelling from the Public Health Agency of Canada shows there could be 60,000 new infections a day if Canadians increase their contacts. That number could be limited to 20,000 a day if Canadians maintain their current number of personal contacts
  • Each new case in Canada is spreading infection to more than one person, keeping the epidemic in a growth pattern
  • Escalating incidence among high-risk adults, aged 80 years and older
  • More and larger outbreaks (>50 individuals) affecting long-term care homes and health-care settings
  • Indigenous communities seeing rapidly rising case numbers
  • Outbreaks in schools and linked to social gatherings
  • Increasing hospitalizations following the increase in reported cases

WEBINARS
Doctors Nova Scotia-hosted webinars have ended for the time being. Watch for more information.

DNS webinar recordings
Did you miss a webinar? Recordings are available on the DNS COVID-19 info hub.

REMINDERS

Clarification of self-isolation rule for travellers (see examples of essential and non-essential travel)
Government has provided further clarification around new self-isolation rules which took effect on Nov. 9:

• If a person travelling for non-essential reasons enters Nova Scotia from outside Atlantic Canada everyone in the home where they are self-isolating must self-isolate as well. Nobody in that household can leave the property for 14-days and they cannot have visitors. This means no school, no shopping and no work outside the home
• Examples of non-essential travel include vacations, visits, pickups or drop-offs of non-essential items, and so on
• Examples of essential travel include certain types of work (such as by exempt, rotational or specialized workers) or attending an immediate family member’s funeral
• If the shared home a traveller is isolating in has a completely separate living space with its own amenities and entrance, then other family members may be exempt from self-isolating with the individual who has returned to the Atlantic bubble. The isolating person cannot leave their designated private area
• See the attached PDF for more details on self-isolating in a hotel and finishing it in a home, taking a walk outside while self-isolating, driving a traveller back from the airport, and international travellers

ICYMI

SimEd Collaborative CPD Webinar COVID, Simulation and the Second Wave
If you missed the webinar on Oct. 29 with Drs. Lynn Johnston, Gaynor Watson-Creed, and Tim Willett, check out the recording here.

Flulaval Tetra vaccine lot suspended
Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, issued an urgent notice suspending the Flulaval Tetra vaccine lot number KX9F7 due to adverse events experienced in N.B. Learn more

Free PPE extended until end of 2020
Government will supply community physicians with free personal protective equipment (PPE) for this flu season until Dec. 31. This includes gloves for administering intranasal influenza vaccine and additional medical masks, gowns, gloves, hand sanitizer and face shields for providing first aid and/or emergency assistance. Community physicians can click here to submit a request to the Department of Health and Wellness for additional PPE supplies for administering flu vaccinations; either update a previous request or make a new one. Your organization will be notified by email of the approved supply and instructions for online ordering. For more information, email PPErequest@novascotia.ca.

DNS staff, meetings and events
All DNS meetings and events have moved to a virtual format. You may reach staff by email or by calling 902-468-1866 or toll free at 1-800-563-3427.

Resources
See the DNS COVID-19 info hub for a complete list of COVID-19 resources.

Information hubs to watch

• Nova Scotia Health updates and service cancellations
• IWK updates and service cancellations
• Doctor Nova Scotia updates and information
• Dalhousie CPD COVID-19 webpage
• Department of Health and Wellness
• 811 assessment online assessment [BJ8] 
• Government of Canada
• Canadian Medical Association
• Canadian Pediatric Society COVID-19 resources for the care of children