Public Health is warning about potential exposure to COVID-19 on three more flights.
The first is a WestJet flight from Edmonton that landed in Halifax shortly after 6:00 on Sunday morning.
Passengers in rows 8 to 14 and seats C, D, E and F who are not fully vaccinated are asked to immediately isolate, even if they don’t have symptoms, and book a COVID-19 test.
Passengers in those rows and seats who are fully vaccinated are not required to isolate or be tested, unless they develop symptoms.
Similar instructions apply to passengers in rows 30 to 36 and seats C, D, E and F on an Air Canada flight from Toronto that landed in Halifax shortly before 12:30, last Friday morning.
And, passengers in rows 25 to 31 and seats A, B, C and D on another Air Canada flight from Toronto that landed in Halifax at 2:35 on Saturday afternoon are being asked to isolate and get tested if they’re not fully vaccinated.
The provincial Health Authority says many elective and same-day surgeries will be put on hold until at least the end of next week in the Central Zone that includes Halifax.
The same move is being made in the Northern Zone as the Health Authority deals with a high demand for service and staffing challenges that’ve been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It says the move is needed to open up hospital beds and allow for continued emergency care.
Cancer and other time-sensitive surgeries that can’t be delayed will continue.
The authority also says it expects people will continue to see longer than normal wait times in emergency departments into the fall.
However, it notes emergency departments at regional hospitals and the QEII in Halifax are always open and people should not hesitate to visit an emergency department if they need to.
The province is reporting six new cases of COVID-19 today.
One of those cases is in the Cape Breton County Community Health Network and health officials say it’s related to travel.
Three of the new cases are in the Central Zone, with two in the Northern Zone.
With 20 new recoveries reported today, there’s now a total of 159 known active cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, including three in the Cape Breton County Community Health Network.
Four people in the province are now in hospital with the virus.
The Progressive Conservative government says its newly created Office of Health Care Professionals Recruitment is seeing some early successes.
It says two anesthetists and a psychiatrist have signed job offers to practice in Cape Breton.
And the Office says two family doctors practising in Halifax have worked with the office to address concerns and will now stay in Nova Scotia.
It says several other doctors are also consulting with it to come to, or stay in the province.
The Office also says a planned pilot project will look to make the continuing care assistant profession more attractive by offering on-site childcare at a nursing home in Sydney.
The province is delaying the planned start of Phase 5 of its reopening plan tomorrow as COVID-19 case numbers start to go up.
The province is now aiming to go into Phase 5 on October 4th, when its proof of vaccination policy will be in place.
Health Minister Michelle Thompson made the announcement this afternoon.
The province says there are some events taking place at large entertainment venues before October 4th where tickets have already been sold.
It says those events can proceed without following the gathering limit as long as the venue has a policy requiring spectators to be fully vaccinated and wear masks.
