Nova Scotia reports 9 new COVID-19 cases Friday

Nova Scotia reportedninenew cases of COVID-19 on Friday.

There are now 31 known active cases in the province. Five of thenew cases arein the western health zone and fourin the central zone.

Nova Scotia's health authority said the five cases came from a group that had travelled internationally and the other four had travelled outside of Atlantic Canada. All of them are self-isolating.

The nine new cases are the biggest jump in the province since 10 cases were reported on Feb. 26.

"Our Easter weekend is looking very different than those in other provinces because of our low active case numbers, and today's cases show our border protocols are working," said Premier Iain Rankin in a media release.

"But we have to remain vigilant including strictly adhering to self-isolation after travel and other public health measures to remain safe."

Rankin also extended the state of emergency until April 18.

Nova Scotia Health labs completed 3,122 tests on Thursday.

"People are answering the call to get tested and helping identify where the virus is in our province, and I thank them for that," said Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health. "Getting tested is one of the ways we can work together to contain the spread of COVID-19."

The province has administered111,403 doses of COVID-19 vaccine and29,530 Nova Scotians have received their second dose.

Vaccine eligibility expanded

Rankin announced Thursday that people age70 and older can now bookfor the Pfizer-BioNTechor Moderna vaccines.

New vaccine appointment times have been added for the weeks of April12 and April19.

The minimum age to receive theAstraZeneca vaccine is also being lowered.

Nova Scotiansbetween 55-59 are now eligible to receive thatvaccine with bookings starting April6. Currently, the vaccine is only available to ages 60-64.

Atlantic Canada case numbers

• New Brunswickreported ninenew cases on Friday for a total of 147known active cases. Ten people are in the hospital, including five in intensive care.
• Newfoundland and Labradorreported one new caseon Thursday. The province hadfour known active cases.
• P.E.I.reported one new caseon Thursday. There were 13known active cases on the Island.