Inside today's numbers
Sunday, May 23, 2021
New cases
74
New recoveries
103
New deaths
2
Active cases
943
Days in a row with cases
55
Total cases in Nova Scotia during pandemic
5,286
Total COVID deaths
79
Halifax’s lockdown
31 days
Nova Scotia’s lockdown
26 days
Sunday is the 31st day of the Halifax lockdown. A month. A full month like July or October, not a mini-month like February or September. A full month of restrictions and limitations, at times tightened and expanded, as when the lockdown spread to include all of Nova Scotia, which is now on day 26 of lockdown.
And after a month of lockdown, infections are not dropping steadily towards zero, but still rise and fall one day to the next, arriving in batches of dozens even on the best days. Today is not among the best. The province is reporting two deaths and 74 new cases (see below), compared to one death and 64 new cases yesterday, two deaths and 84 cases Friday, and no deaths and 65 cases Thursday.
A lot of people have been recovering from the disease of late, these recoveries driving the caseload down. Last Sunday there were 1,541 active cases; every day since then brought a drop, and this Sunday there are 943 active cases. This is undeniable progress. But after a month of lockdown, Nova Scotia has nearly 1,000 active cases? And the province reports "community spread in Central Zone and in Sydney?" As well as "areas of concern, particularly in Bridgewater, New Minas and Kentville?" The virus is making progress, too, despite the restrictions blanketing the province.
We can't say how many people are in hospital and ICU. "Hospitalization data is not yet available," the province says in its Sunday report. "An update will be provided with this information later today." (Note: This capsule was updated later today, and there is no sign of hospitalization info.) And because it's the weekend, the province doesn't report vaccination numbers.
We can, however, pass along testing data: The province says 6,890 tests were processed by the Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs yesterday. And we can offer a little Coast analysis of the data: 6,890 tests is a little below the currently daily average of about 7,300 tests.
Last but not least, the province breaks down today's 74 new cases as 61 in Central zone, nine Eastern, three Northern and one Western Zone. For some more Coast analysis, consult our map and table, which use provincial data to place today's new cases and recoveries in the 14 community health networks that make up Nova Scotia.
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.2 deaths and 74 new cases
The province is reporting that two people in the Central zone have died of COVID—a woman and a man, both in their 70s. There are also 74 new cases of COVID, up from yesterday's count of 64 cases, and 103 people have recovered, for a current total of 943 active cases.
“This has been a tragic weekend. The hearts of all Nova Scotians are with the families and friends who are grieving the loss of loved ones,” says premier Iain Rankin via the provincial report. “Please make decisions this weekend that help stop the spread of this virus so we can prevent more Nova Scotians from having to experience such grief.”
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.No COVID numbers yet
On a lazy Victoria Day holiday weekend Sunday, with the weather shifting between warm-and-sunny and threats-of-rain, the province has not yet released the latest disease statistics. If you think you have nothing better to do than wait around for them, we respectfully suggest you might find inspiration in The Coast's V-Day long weekend survival guide or our list of 15 lockdown life enhancers.
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 22, 2021.