Nova Scotia reports two new COVID-19 cases Sunday, seven recoveries

Cautious optimism in Nova Scotia There is a sense of cautious optimism as COVID numbers continue to plummet in Nova Scotia. Paul Hollingsworth reports.

HALIFAX — Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting two new COVID-19 cases Sunday, along with seven recoveries.

Both cases are in the province’s Central Zone, and Public Health says they are close contacts of previously reported cases.

"This is the lowest case number we've seen in some time," said Premier Iain Rankin in a media release sent out Sunday. "Thank you to all Nova Scotians for helping us bring the case numbers down and the vaccination rate up. This is how we take care of each other and what allows us to continue reopening our province."

Public Health says there is still evidence of “limited community spread” in the Central Zone, as they monitor all other zones for signs of spread.

"The declining case numbers show that our cautious approach to reopening is working," said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health. "Let's keep up the good work, following the public health measures, getting vaccinated and getting tested regularly."

There are now 83 active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, and there have been 5,251 cumulative cases since the pandemic began.

There are six Nova Scotians hospitalized from COVID-19, half of which are in intensive care. The median age for hospitalization during the third wave in Nova Scotia is 52 for non-ICU, and 55 for ICU patients.

There have been 90 total deaths from COVID-19-related causes in the province, and 5,618 total resolved cases.

As of the province’s last update on Friday, 68.8 per cent of Nova Scotia’s eligible population has had at least one vaccine dose, and 6.8 per cent have had a second.

In total, 752,599 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in Nova Scotia, as of the province’s last tally on Friday.