Nova Scotia Announces Reopening Plan

USPA NEWS - "This wave is being crushed in almost record time when you look at what's happening across the country. How? Because we locked down quickly and decisively.'' ~ Premier Iain Rankin

During last Friday's COVID-19 media briefing Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin and the chief medical officer of Nova Scotia Dr. Robert Strang announced a cautious reopening plan for the province. This will be a 5 phase plan allowing Nova Scotians to enjoy the summer while the population continues to get both doses of the vaccine which will provide the best immunity against the virus. Unlike other provinces, Premier Rankin would not commit to specific dates for certain restrictions to be lifted. Advancement will be "based on data, not dates." Dr. Robert Strang said, "Each phase could take as little as two weeks to complete. But if the province fails to reach its targets or infections spike, each phase could take up to four weeks."

On Friday May 28, Under Phase 1 of the reopening plan, restrictions on travel within Nova Scotia were lifted with the exception of non-essential travel in and out of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality and much of the Halifax region because of community spread of the COVID-19 virus in those areas. UPDATE **As of Monday May 31st, The Premier has announced that all students will be returning to school this week including schools in HRM and CBRM. Also updated, is that as of June 1st, there will no longer be any restrictions on travel within Nova Scotia.

The following is a list of restrictions which will be eased as of Wednesday June 2nd at 0800: ( List as posted on novascotia.ca) Nova Scotia residence can gather outdoors with a consistent social group of up to 10 people without physical distance, the limit for indoor gatherings remains the people you live with; two households with 1 or 2 people each can still join together but they must be the same 2 households all the time, faith gatherings can be held outdoors with a limit of 10 plus officiants when hosted by a recognized organization; drive-in services are allowed with no limit on numbers, wedding and funeral ceremonies remain limited to 5 plus officiants indoors but can increase to 10 plus officiants outdoors; there can be no receptions or visitations, restaurants and licensed establishments can open patios at their maximum capacity with physical distance between tables, a limit of 10 people per table and masks when people are not eating or drinking; they must stop service by 11 p.m. and close by midnight, all retail stores can operate at 25 per cent capacity, ensuring physical distance, personal services such as hair salons, barber shops and spas can operate by appointment only following their sector plan but cannot offer services that require removing the customer's mask, fitness and recreation facilities can offer outdoor activities with a limit of 10 people with physical distancing, or multiple groups of 10 that are distanced on their own property, as well as one-on-one personal training indoors, outdoor pools can open with a limit of 10 people at a time with physical distancing, organized sports practices can have 10 people outdoors without physical distancing, or multiple groups of 10 that are distanced, professional arts and culture organizations can hold rehearsals with 15 people indoors and amateur rehearsals can have 10 people outdoors without physical distancing, drive-in theaters can operate with no limit on numbers, campgrounds can offer season and short-term camping following their sector plan with distance between camp sites, residents of long-term care facilities can have visitors outdoors; visitors must wear masks but no physical distance is required if the resident is fully vaccinated, recreation activities and services such as hair-styling can resume for fully vaccinated residents of long-term care facilities, fully vaccinated residents of homes licensed by the Department of Health and Wellness under the Homes for Special Care Act can resume access to their communities for work or school, fully vaccinated residents of homes licensed by the Department of Community Service under the Homes for Special Care Act can resume access to their communities for work, therapy, recreation and family visits, more people can get exceptions to enter Nova Scotia for end-of-life visits with immediate family members, and students from within Canada can apply to enter the province for in-person or virtual studies if they are enrolled in the summer semester.

It was also announced that all passengers arriving at Halifax Stanfield Airport will soon be tested onsite. Dr. Robert Strang indicated that more details will available next week.

A PDF file containing the outline of the 5 phases on Nova Scotia's reopening plan can be found at: The reopening plan can be found at: https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus/docs/reopening-safely-with-COVID-19-plan-overview.pdf