NOTE: This day is now over. Click for the latest on COVID-19 from The Coast. Or for an informative look back at Nova Scotia's evolving pandemic response, keep on reading.
1 death, 64 cases, 500,000 vaccinations
Saturday, May 22, 2021
New cases
64
New recoveries
116
New deaths
1
Active cases
975
Days in a row with cases
54
Total cases in Nova Scotia during pandemic
5,213
Total COVID deaths
77
Halifax’s lockdown
30 days
Nova Scotia’s lockdown
25 days
“It is difficult to hear that another family has suffered the loss of a loved one today,” says CMOH Robert Strang in the update. “This is one of the sad days, and it reminds us how serious this virus is."
“On behalf of all Nova Scotians, I want to offer sincere condolences to the family mourning the loss of their loved one today,” says premier Iain Rankin. “Our active cases may be declining but COVID-19 is still in our province and continues to have devastating impacts on families.”
Today that decline is powered by 116 recoveries and only ("only") 64 new cases, pushing the caseload down to 975 active cases after yesterday's count of 1,028. This is the first time the caseload has been below 1,000 in 19 days—since Monday, May 3. The number of people in hospital with COVID is also down, from 84 in yesterday's report to 74 today (with those who are intensive care dropping from 21 yesterday to 20 in ICU today).
The province breaks down the location of the 64 new cases as 46 cases in Central zone, 10 in Eastern, seven Northern and one Western. Our map and chart go further, using data from the province's C19 dashboard to show where the new cases are in the province's 14 community health networks.
Outside Halifax Regional Municipality, the community network with the most new cases is Sydney/Glace Bay. This jibes with the provincial report notice that there is "community spread in Central Zone and in Sydney."
The province says 8,588 tests were processed yesterday, which is more than 1,000 tests above the current daily average. For some reason, vaccination numbers aren't reported on weekends—the province hasn't said what the reason is—but apparently someone is still counting, because the province says health minister Zach Churchill was in Yarmouth at City Drug Store to honour the milestone 500,000th dose of vaccine being injected.
Charting cases in the NS health networks
Our table uses data logged from Nova Scotia's official COVID-19 dashboard in order to provide this breakdown. The province reports the number of active cases in each of the 14 community health networks, but The Coast does the math to be able to report the new and resolved case numbers. We also map the data to provide a different view of the case information.Our map of COVID by community health networks
This map was created by The Coast using daily case data from Nova Scotia's official COVID-19 dashboard. Our goal is for this to be the best NS COVID map around, clearer and more informative than the province or any other media organization provides. To get there we do an analysis of the data to find the new and resolved case numbers in the 14 community health networks, information the province does not provide. For a different but still highly accessible approach to the latest COVID statistics, check out our case table.Getting tested
At this point in the Nova Scotia's third wave, health officials consider widespread testing an important part of the fight against the disease. "The thing I think that folks are missing is that what we're recommending at the moment, is not just that people get tested when the numbers"—of new infections—"are high, but also get tested weekly,” rapid testing leader Lisa Barrett explained to The Coast. She says most people should “assume that you're in an exposure site if you live in certain areas in this province—or almost anywhere in the province at the moment, because there's a lot of community spread.” To that end, click here to find a rapid test now.
Click here for yesterday's COVID-19 news roundup, for May 21, 2021.
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