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.
Map of NS community health networks Table of community networks New and active cases Vaccination rate
Vaccinations hit a new low
Vaccine uptake has been slowing down in recent weeks. This isn't news is you've been following Coast coverage of Nova Scotia's vaccination rate, and the province did manage to get past the Phase 4 target of having 75 percent of the population jabbed with at least one dose, so the slowdown probably isn't dire. But it just reached a new low.
According to the numbers in Tuesday's provincial COVID report, clinics across the province injected just 2,504 arms yesterday. That is the lowest vax total since there were 2,068 doses reported April 5, which is only about four months ago according to the calendar, but feels like four years ago because it's on the other side of Nova Scotia's third wave of COVID infections. (It's so low that we've reached out to the province to confirm the number is correct, and will let you know if it turns out to be wrong.)
The vaccination rate moved from 76.68 percent of the population with at least one dose yesterday, to 76.74 percent today, as shown on our vax rate chart below. Rounding those numbers to one decimal point as the province's COVID data dashboard does, Nova Scotia was at 76.7 percent yesterday and is at 76.7 percent yesterday, i.e. the rate didn't change at all. This is the definition of reaching a plateau.
There will surely be a few more unvaccinated Nova Scotians who get vaccinated this summer…but what if there aren't? What if 76.7 percent isn't just an indicator of the reality of the slowdown, but the absolute maximum?
That's 76.7 percent of Nova Scotia's entire population proven willing and able to get a vaccine, with most of them—over 67 percent of the total—already fully vaccinated with two doses. If all the people who currently have only one dose end up getting the second, Nova Scotia will eventually reach 76.7 percent fully vaccinated, enough to pass into Phase 5, the ultimate level of loosened COVID restrictions. And that's not even counting thousands of military personnel or the unknown numbers of people who got shots outside of the province, who don't show up on Nova Scotia's count. At this rate we're not going to reach 80 percent fully vaccinated until Health Canada approves a vaccine for children young than 12, but we should pass 75 percent with room to spare.
The new case is tied to travel
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Reopening status
Phase 4
New cases
1
New recoveries
0
New deaths
0
Active cases
17
Total cases in Nova Scotia during pandemic
5,908
Total COVID deaths
93
The province's Tuesday disease report says the new case is in the Central health zone, and it's related to travel. Coast analysis determines the case is in the Central zone's Bedford/Sackville community health network (this is where we mention our ever-popular map and table), and the patient is a female in the 20-to-39 age group. The province hasn't indicated if she is fully, partially or not-at-all vaccinated.
One person is in hospital with COVID currently, severe enough that they are in intensive care, according to the provincial report. This is the seventh report in a row, dating back 11 days to July 30, that Nova Scotia's had one hospitalization (who's in the ICU). The province won't say if it's been the same person this whole time, but we are sending good vibes their way no matter what.
Local labs completed 2,239 PCR COVID tests on Monday, a relatively large increase from the 1,673 tests done Sunday. The current daily average is about 2,750 tests.
Map of cases in community health networks
This infographic 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 each day's 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. Note: On July 23, 2021, Nova Scotia announced that it will no longer update case numbers on weekends.
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Case table of the health networks
The Coast uses data logged from Nova Scotia's official COVID-19 dashboard in order to provide this tabulated breakdown. The province reports the number of active cases in each of Nova Scotia's 14 community health networks, but we do 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. Note: Effective July 23, 2021, the province no longer updates case numbers on weekends.
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New and active cases visualized
Nova Scotia's third wave of COVID grew in April, 2021, peaked in May (227 new cases in one day was the maximum) and subsided in June. On July 17, the province reached five active cases—its lowest level in more than eight months—and an election was called. So when it came time to reset The Coast's chart comparing daily new cases with that day’s active caseload, in order to better reflect disease levels after the third wave, we started from July 17. The dark line tracks the rise and fall of new infections reported by the province; the green area is the province's caseload. Click or hover over any point on the graph and the detail for that moment will pop up. To focus on just new or active cases, click the legend at the top left of the graph to hide or reveal that data set. Note: As of July 23, 2021, the province stopped updating case numbers on weekends. And you can click here for the version of this graph that includes the third wave and its May 10 crest of 1,655 active cases.
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Vaccination in the population
How many Nova Scotians already have one dose of vaccine? How many are fully vaccinated with two doses? And how close are we to the herd immunity goal of 75 percent of the province fully vaxxed? These questions are answered in our chart of the vaccination rate in Nova Scotia since the province started reporting these numbers in January 2021, breaking out people who've had a single dose separate from those who've had the full complement of two doses. (Here's more information about the 75 percent target and what it will take to get there.) Note: The province doesn't update vaccination numbers on weekends.
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Click here for yesterday's COVID-19 news roundup, for August 9, 2021.