Nova Scotia reports 165 new COVID-19 cases Sunday, active cases rise to 1,626

Group of disease experts calls for masking again As COVID-19 cases rise in N.S., a group of infectious disease experts is calling for the return of mandatory masking. Jesse Thomas reports.

HALIFAX — Public Health says 138 of the new cases are in the Central Zone, 16 in the Eastern Zone, six in the Western Zone, and five in the Northern Zone.

"Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there and to those that play the role. For the second year in a row, Mother's Day will be much different than we are used to," said Premier Iain Rankin. "Thank you for adjusting your celebrations to be as safe as possible."

In Sunday's media release, the province says one of the new Central Zone cases involves an employee at the Northwood nursing home. "Follow up" is being done with clients and staff, according to the release.

"Nova Scotians have made changes to their daily lives to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 and it's important to continue to follow the public health measures while celebrating Mother's Day," said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health. "Now is not the time to let our guard down, if you don't live with your m.other-figure, please celebrate Mother's Day virtually."

The province says there is evidence of community spread in the Central Zone, and the rest of the zones are being monitored for signs of spread.

N.S. COVID-19 CASE DATA

Nova Scotia conducted 7,511 COVID-19 tests on Saturday, and 676,372 total since the pandemic began.

There have been 3,919 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia.

Of those, 2,222 have recovered, and 71 people have died due to COVID-19-related causes.

There are currently 50 people in hospital due to COVID-19, which includes seven in intensive care.

There are cases confirmed across the province, but most have been identified in the Central Zone, which contains the Halifax Regional Municipality.

The provincial government says cumulative cases by zone may change as data is updated in Panorama, the province’s electronic information system.

The following numbers reflect where a person lives and not where their sample was collected.

The provincial state of emergency, which was first declared on March 22, 2020, has been extended to May 16, 2021.