Schools Staying Closed, Lockdown Extended, COVID Cases Continue To Rise In Eastern ZoneZone
There’s a number of major developments in the province’s battle with COVID-19, including the closure of schools for the rest of the year and the extension of the provincewide lockdown, as well as two more COVID-19 deaths, increasing signs of community spread in Sydney and a higher case count in the Eastern Zone, including cases at two long-term care homes in Cape Breton.
Premier Iain Rankin announced this afternoon students will not be returning to class this year.
He also announced the lockdown is being extended at least until the second week of June.
83 more COVID-19 cases are being reported today.
19 of those are in the Eastern Zone, including a resident and an outside agency staff member at Harbourstone Enhanced Care in Sydney and a staff member at My Cape Breton Home for Seniors in North Sydney.
Health officials say staff and residents in both homes are being tested and residents are being cared for in their rooms.
Most residents in both homes have had two doses of COVID-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Robert Strang told reporters today new cases in Cape Breton are concentrated in Sydney, where there are now signs of community spread.
He says many of the cases are being seen among 20-30 year-olds and he’s continuing to ask people in that age group and others in the Sydney area to get a COVID-19 test.
Strang says a pop-up testing site will reopen at Centre 200 tomorrow.
The primary assessment Centre on Grand Lake Road is offering walk-up rapid testing and PCR tests by appointment.
PCR tests are also offered by appointment at the primary assessment centre at the Northside General Hospital.
Meanwhile, health officials say one of the deaths reported today was a man in his 60’s in the Eastern Zone.
The other person was a woman in her 60’s in the Central Zone.
The province is also reporting 164 recoveries today, bringing the total confirmed active case count down to 1,262.
However, there are now 101 people in the province in hospital with COVID-19, including 20 in Intensive care.
There’s now a total of 131 confirmed active cases in the Cape Breton County Community Health Network and four in the Inverness, Victoria and Richmond Community Health Network.