Nova Scotia Closes Borders To Non-Essential Travel
HALIFAX—Nova Scotia is restricting non-essential travel into and out of the province.
As of Thursday morning, people from outside Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland won’t be allowed to enter Nova Scotia unless they are permanent residents, or their trip is essential.
That means Nova Scotia is keeping its open borders with PEI and Newfoundland but clamping down tightly on travellers from everywhere else, including New Brunswick.
The province also says Nova Scotia residents should not leave the province for non-essential purposes.
At a press briefing today, Premier Iain Rankin said rising Covid-19 case counts have forced the province to put in place more restrictive measures.
“We need to be flexible with our approach, and this time that means we need to take a step back,” Rankin said.
On April 20, the province announced nine new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total active case count to 68.
Many of those cases are related to travel. Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, today said slowing traffic into the province is a vital part of curbing Covid-19’s spread.
Recently, Strang said there’s been a 400 percent increase in the number of people coming across Nova Scotia’s land borders.
Strang said many of those people are from Ontario.
“We don’t have reasons why [people are coming more frequently] but if you look around, we know Nova Scotia has been seen a place that’s seen as safer and our real estate is attracting Ontario residents,” Strang said.
With many new Covid-19 cases being identified as more contagious variant strains, Strang said harsher restrictions are needed to slow traffic over the province’s border.
To that end, the government’s new restrictions ban almost everyone from entering the province for at least four weeks, with only a few exceptions.
Those exceptions include those who live in Nova Scotia but work outside the province, post-secondary students, people travelling for childcare or legal purposes, some workers who are considered essential, and a few others.
Strang said the government will even turn away people who bought a house in Nova Scotia if they closed the deal after the new travel restrictions came into place.
“We need to stop the flow of people coming into the province for non-essential purposes, including moving here,” Strang said.
The new restrictions will initially stay in place for four weeks but may be extended if needed.
“We hope these measures are short-term, but we are prepared to extend them if necessary,” Strang said.
While the province clamps down on outsiders bringing Covid-19 into Nova Scotia it is also dealing with rising case counts from within.
Strang said most new cases in the province are still related to travel. However, there are “early signs of possible community spread” in the Halifax area.
Strang said there are case clusters in several HRM communities, including Sackville, Halifax, Dartmouth, and Lawrencetown areas, that can’t be traced back to a specific source. He said anyone living in those communities should get a Covid-19 test even if they’re not symptomatic.