Nova Scotia reports 34 new cases of COVID-19 Thursday

Nova Scotia reported 34 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the active number of cases to 173.

Of the new cases, 26 are in the northern zone and are all close contacts of previous cases.

There's an outbreak in a tightly knit community of largely unvaccinated people in the northern zone. Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang said Tuesday that most have mild to moderate symptoms. He declined to give further details about the affected community to avoid stigmatizing the group.

Seven of the new cases are in the central zone. Two are close contacts of previous cases, while five are under investigation.

There's one new case in the eastern zone, which is related to travel.

Four people are in hospital with COVID-19.

Labs in the province finished processing 4,016 COVID-19 tests on Wednesday.

As of Thursday, 73.1 per cent of Nova Scotians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Postponing surgeries

Nova Scotia Health officials are postponing certain surgeries as staff in the central and northern health zones cope with intense pressures on emergency departments. There are several factors behind this, but one is the recent spike in COVID-19 cases in the northern zone.

Six new cases of COVID-19 were announced Wednesday, marking a dramatic drop from Tuesday when 66 new cases were reported, and from Monday, when 73 cases were reported from over the weekend.

IWK vaccination clinic

A drop-in Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine clinic is happening Thursday and Friday within the Goldbloom Pavilion of the IWK Health Centre on University Avenue in Halifax. The clinic will be open to people 12 and above who are looking for their first or second COVID-19 vaccine dose. Post-secondary students, in particular, are encouraged to get their shots. The clinic is open from 8 a.m. AT to 4 p.m., both days.

GoodLife Fitness vaccination clinics

In a news release issued Thursday, GoodLife Fitness said COVID-19 vaccination clinics will be held at two of its locations next week for members, employees and the general public. The walk-in clinics will be providing Pfizer doses and will be happening at the Bedford Hemlock Square location on Monday, Sept. 20, from 3:30 p.m. AT to 7:30 p.m., and the Dartmouth Penhorn Plaza location on Sept. 21 from 3:30 p.m. AT to 7:30 p.m.

"Hosting these clinics has been a goal of ours since earlier this spring, and we have been fortunate to host clinics in several provinces so far," said the news release.

Atlantic Canada case numbers

Case numbers have not yet been reported for the other Atlantic Canadian provinces Thursday.Atlantic Canada case numbers

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