Nova Scotia Buzz
Today The Province of Nova Scotia released projections on what will happen with compliance of public health orders and what could happen if Nova Scotians fail to comply.
There are two areas of concern in the province at the moment according to Dr. Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer. They are, Eastern Dartmouth and long-term care facilities. Dartmouth East currently has strong comprehensive controls in place to control an outbreak of about 200 cases.
The Projections:
Nova Scotia has had 517 cases. With compliance of public health orders, Nova Scotia is projected to see 1,453 cases by June 30. If there is poor compliance, the province is projected to see 6,269 cases by the end of June.
With good compliance Nova Scotia is projected to see 35 hospitalizations at the peak. With poor compliance Nova Scotia would see 85 hospitalizations.
Dr. Strang points out, “If we stay in the numbers that are projected in the dark blue curve, that is within the capacity of the health care system to manage. Not that it wouldn’t create pressure on our current health care system.”
“If we go to the other scenario those lines, and more than doubling of the two to three times the number of hospitalizations at the peak, that is beyond the capacity of our health care system.”
“That puts us in a situation like some other countries and frankly some other provinces in Canada with their health care system being overwhelmed. That is not a situation we want to be in. That puts many lives at risk.”
Controlling community spread in areas like Eastern Dartmouth will be critical to protecting long-term care facilities. Long-term care workers live in the community and Nova Scotia needs to minimize the chance of long-term care workers from bringing COVID-19 into facilities.
“If you’re not so concerned about yourself, be concerned about your community,” Dr. Strang says.
