by Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang says labs in Halifax are dealing with a backlog of COVID-19 tests and that means the number of new cases there is likely much higher than what was reported today.
However, Strang says there’s no backlog in Cape Breton and no sign of community spread on the island at this time.
Meanwhile, a number of service changes are being made at hospitals across the province as health officials expect a higher number of hospitalizations in the coming days.
The changes include a reduction in surgeries that require admission, including at the Regional Hospital in Sydney.
There are now 22 people in the province in hospital with COVID-19, including five in intensive care.
The province reported a total of 67 new cases of COVID-19 today.
57 of those cases are in the Central Zone, three are in the Eastern Zone that includes Cape Breton, three are in the Northern Zone and four are in the Western Zone.
There are now 42 confirmed active cases in the Cape Breton County Community Health Network and four in the Inverness, Victoria and Richmond Community Health Network.