Nova Scotia goes into quarantine
The virus is spreading faster than ever, provincial authorities say.
Nova Scotia goes into a 2-week lockdown as authorities are concerned about the rapid spread of COVID-19 in the province.
The lockdown began today, April 28. A day earlier, when Prime Minister Ian Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang, the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced a quarantine, 96 cases of infestation were identified in Nova Scotia.
Schools and secondary businesses (restaurants, gyms, malls, beauty salons, libraries, museums and shops with non-essential goods) will not be open for the next 2 weeks. Delivery, take-away and take-away sales are permitted.
Gathering both indoors and outdoors can only take place within the same household. People who live alone or in tandem with another family member can meet with one or two people from another household, but they must be the same people within 2 weeks.
Events, festivals, religious gatherings, business meetings, weddings and funerals, and group sports are prohibited.
Shops that sell food, medicines, personal care products, baby products and pet products, as well as financial institutions and petrol stations will be open, but with limited attendance: no more than 25% of the business' capacity.
Day care centers will be open to provide child care for those workers who cannot work remotely. It is compulsory for staff, parents and children over 2 years old to wear masks.
Outdoor sports and playgrounds will also be available. It is necessary to wear masks on them. Businesses that offer sports or outdoor recreation can also work, but with no more than 5 customers at a time, who must keep a distance.
Nova Scotians will only be required to move within their localities unless they have a valid reason to travel to another municipality.
Before the quarantine was announced, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that 60 troops would be deployed to Nova Scotia to help at COVID-19 testing centres. The province requested support because of a rapid increase in infections, especially in Halifax, the provincial capital.
There are currently 419 active cases in Nova Scotia. Eleven people are in hospital and three are in intensive care. More than 35,000 people in the province have already been vaccinated with two doses of the vaccine, for a total of more than 280,000 doses administered.
