All schools in Halifax Regional Municipality and surrounding area to close Tuesday - CBC.ca

The province has announced all schools in the Halifax area will transition to at-home learning this week. Schools will close Tuesday, with at-home learning set to begin Thursday. 

The school closure impacts pre-primary to Grade 12 public schools in the Halifax Regional Centre for Education and schools in the Enfield, Elmsdale and Mount Uniacke areas of the Chignecto Central Regional Centre for Education. All French schools in the province — those in the Conseil scolaire acadien provincial — will also close.

Nova Scotia reported 66 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, which marked the most new cases announced in a single day since the start of the pandemic. 

There are 323 known active cases in the province. Five people are in hospital, including two in intensive care.

A news release from the provincial government said there are 60 cases in the central zone. Eight were identified Sunday at the following schools: 

• Chebucto Heights Elementary in Halifax.
   
•  Joseph Howe Elementary in Halifax.
   
• Oxford School in Halifax.
   
• Bedford South School in Bedford.
   
• Atlantic View Elementary in Lawrencetown.
   
• Brookhouse Elementary in Dartmouth.
   
• Cole Harbour District High in Dartmouth.
   
• Nelson Whynder Elementary in North Preston.

Three cases are in the eastern zone, one of which was identified Sunday at Jubilee Elementary in Sydney Mines. Two cases are in the western zone, and one is in the northern zone.

Microbiology labs across the province processed 11,335 tests Sunday — another record-setting number.

Premier Iain Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health for Nova Scotia, are scheduled to provide an update at 3 p.m. AT via livestream video.

Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Robert Strang, says coronavirus variants are driving a recent spike in COVID-19 cases, prompting tighter public health rules. 6:04

There were a total of 115 new cases reported over the weekend, mostly in the central zone where there is known community spread. The Health Department said Sunday it was actively monitoring for community spread in all other regions of the province. 

At a briefing Sunday afternoon, Strang said he expected high case counts to persist until at least mid-week, at which point numbers could start to subside, an indication current public health measures are working. If the trend in new cases does not change this week, he said, additional restrictions may be necessary.

Thirty recent cases are connected to schools, mostly in the Halifax region. Prior to announcing the widespread closures that will begin this week, more than 40 schools in the Dartmouth area had already closed for two weeks due to community-spread concerns. Several other schools in the Halifax region, along with one in Truro and three in the Sydney area, are closed until later this week for deep cleaning and contract tracing.

Currently, the province is asking everyone in the province to stay in their communities except for essential travel, which includes work, school, child care or medical or legal appointments. At Sunday's briefing, Rankin said a legal order is being drafted to make the travel recommendation enforceable.

In the Halifax area, gatherings cannot exceed five people, indoor or outdoor. In all other parts of the province gatherings cannot exceed 10 people, indoor or outdoor.

The penalty to an individual who breaks any order under the Health Protection Act is now $2,000 for a first offence. It was $1,000, but Rankin doubled it over the weekend following a party thrown by Dalhousie University students that flouted the gathering restrictions. Police issued fines to 22 people. Rankin said that incident made it clear that $1,000 was not enough of a deterrent.

Testing available

COVID-19 testing remains available to anyone who wants it, with or without symptoms. Public Health is asking anyone who has been contacted about a potential exposure, has been at a potential exposure site or has experienced symptoms of COVID-19 to get a lab test.

Testing capacity is increasing at provincial labs to accommodate large numbers of people turning out for swabs. Strang said labs will soon be able to process up to 15,000 tests per day. Those are in addition to the rapid tests that are done at pop-up sites.

Rapid testing is available to anyone 16 and up who does not have symptoms. There are rapid testing sites this week around HRM and in Cape Breton.

About 100 people lined up at the Sackville Sports Stadium for rapid testing before the facility had even opened Sunday morning. (Carolyn Lounsbury/CBC)

Atlantic Canada case numbers

• Newfoundland and Labrador reported two new cases Sunday for a total of 25 active cases. One person is in hospital with the virus.
• New Brunswick reported four new cases on Sunday. There are 130 known active cases. Eight people are in hospital, including three in intensive care.
• P.E.I. announced no new cases Friday for a total of 11 active cases. One person was in hospital.

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All schools in Halifax Regional Municipality and surrounding area to close Tuesday - CBC.ca
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