COVID-19: NS Health Minister and Chief Physician Hold Briefing as Cases Rise – Halifax | The Canadian News

Nova Scotia Health Minister Michelle Thompson is scheduled to hold a press conference Tuesday afternoon as COVID-19 cases rise in the province.

Thompson will be accompanied by Medical Director of Health, Dr. Robert Strang. The event starts at 3pm and will be streamed live here.

On Monday, Nova Scotia reported 73 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend as the province’s active case count reached 125.

The new cases included 36 in the Northern Zone, mostly within a “large group” of mostly unvaccinated people, the province said, and 31 in the Central Zone, of which 11 are under investigation.

The province said there are signs of community spread in the Central Zone among people between 20 and 40 years old, “who are not vaccinated and participate in social activities.”

Phase 5

Nova Scotia is supposed to begin Phase 5 of its recovery plan on Wednesday, when most of the restrictions are scheduled to be lifted.

However, it is unclear if that will continue to occur given that the province has only 72.5 percent of the total population fully vaccinated, below the target of 75 percent.

In a tweet Tuesday morning, the leader of the Liberal Opposition, Iain Rankin, called on Prime Minister Tim Houston to delay Phase 5 and keep public health measures in place “to protect us against a fourth wave driven by Delta. “.

Rankin said in a previous tweet that the province should continue to operate rapid test sites, which are scheduled to close once the province reaches Phase 5.

“The rapid tests were crucial to crushing the third wave. This is not the time to leave our leadership, ”he said.