New, More Infectious Covid-19 Strains Haven’t Yet Shown Up In Nova Scotia
HALIFAX — New, more infectious strains of Covid-19 have begun surfacing around the globe, but Nova Scotia’s top doctor says there is no evidence they have entered Nova Scotia.
Dr. Robert Strang said today public health officials have not yet identified any new strains of Covid-19 among Nova Scotia’s cases but that he “wouldn’t be surprised if we do see it.”
New Covid-19 strains are largely concentrated outside of North America—in places like the United Kingdom and South Africa. Strang says the fact that direct international travel into Nova Scotia is essentially non-existent has so far helped keep those new strains out of the province.
He said public health does robust tracing on international travelers who do come into the province with Covid-19 cases, however, only a small number of Nova Scotia’s cases are related to travel outside North America.
But even if new strains do find their way here, Strang said that doesn’t really change much.
“Regardless of what the variants are the virus remains essentially the same,” he said. And that means it’s vital that Nova Scotians continue to follow public health protocols.
For the most part, Strang said, Nova Scotians have done that over the holidays and that’s reflected in the province’s relatively low case counts.
As of December 29, there were 30 active Covid-19 cases in the province and one person in the hospital.
Strang said 28 of the 33 cases identified over the past week can be traced back to close contact with an infected person or travel outside the province, meaning only a small handful of cases remain a mystery.
He appeared cautiously optimistic about those numbers.
“Five is not a big number but my concern is that if there is some low level of virus circulation and people haven’t been following the Covid requirements… then we’ll start to potentially see a spike the week of January 4.”
Strang said that possibility is why the province has kept public health restrictions in place at least until the new year.
Right now, bars and restaurants remain closed in the HRM and under strict restrictions in the rest of the province. Capacity at retail locations throughout the province has also been capped at 25 percent.
However, starting next week, public health teams will be taking “a very careful look” at epidemiology in the province to see if they can loosen restrictions.
“Hopefully we’re in a place early in the new year where we can start to loosen things up a bit,” Strang said.” But I’m not going to get out ahead of myself.”
In the meantime, Strang said the province is continuing to roll out its immunization program.
Since the first doses of Pfizer’s vaccine were shipped to the province in late December, 2,219 Nova Scotians have so far been vaccinated.
Strang said the province is continuing to prioritize acute care providers in emergency rooms and ICUs, as well as staff in long-term Covid-19 units.
He also said the province expects to receive 3,700 doses of Moderna’s vaccine this week. That vaccine is easier to store than Pfizer’s, meaning the province can distribute it beyond metro Halifax. Right now, five locations in Nova Scotia are set up with the freezers and equipment necessary to handle vaccine distribution.
Strang said he and his team will release more details about the province’s immunization plan next week but that it likely won’t be until spring that lower-risk groups will receive vaccines.