Nova Scotia reports 8 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday

Nova Scotia is reporting eight new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, bringing the active number of cases across the province to 92.

Five of the new cases are in the central zone. Four of those are close contacts of previous cases and one is under investigation.

The remaining three cases are in the eastern zone, with two of those being close contacts and one under investigation.

Five people are now in hospital with COVID-19, including four in intensive care.

Labs processed 5,142 tests on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday, 67.6 per cent of Nova Scotians had received one dose of vaccine.

Case at Hatchet Lake school

The province is reporting a case of COVID-19 connected toProspect Road Elementary in Hatchet Lake.

According to a news release, the school will be closed until Monday to allow cleaning and contact tracing. The school will inform families about at-home learning.

The release said everyone who is a close contact will be notified, tested andrequired to self-isolate for 14 days.

Public Health is recommending that all other students and staff at the school who are not identified as close contacts get tested. They are not required to self-isolate pending their test results.

Rescheduling a second dose

As bookings for first doses of vaccines have already been open to those aged 12 and up for several weeks, the province has been permitting people to rebook their second doses for earlier dates than originally scheduled.

Rescheduling has been made available topeople based on when they received their first dose.

On Wednesday, the province announced people who received a first dose on or before May 1 who were scheduled for a second dose on or before Aug. 14 can now rebook for an earlier date.

People who provided an email address at the time of vaccination will receive a rebooking notice by email. People without an email address, or who did not provide one, can call1-833-797-7772 to reschedule.

• How to get tested for COVID-19 in Nova Scotia
• Here are all the potential COVID-19 exposure sites in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia moved into Phase 2 of its reopening plan on Wednesday, allowing restaurants to resume indoor dining, stores to operate at half capacity and households to have more than one designated shopper, among many other changes.

"As we work our way through the reopening plan, entering Phase 2 today, it is important to remember to continue to get tested for COVID-19 and get vaccinated as soon as you can," Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, said in a news release.

"Many of our new cases are among people who are not vaccinated, or who got the virus within two weeks of their first dose, before the vaccine has taken effect."

The province now reports the vaccination status of people who test positive for COVID-19, are hospitalized or die, on its public dashboard of COVID-19 statistics.

Atlantic Canada case numbers

• New Brunswickreported three newcases Tuesday. It now has85 active cases.
• Newfoundland and Labradorreported one new cases Wednesday. The province has 35 active cases.
• P.E.I.reported no new cases Mondayand hasfour active cases.