COVID-19 Updates from March 2021 – Relevant News & Information

New Brunswick Travel Caution: Nova Scotians are requested to avoid non-essential travel to the city of Edmundston and surrounding communities in New Brunswick as a result of increased cases of COVID-19 in that area. There is no change in Nova Scotia’s New Brunswick border policy at this time. People coming from New Brunswick are not required to isolate in Nova Scotia. Read more.

New Brunswick Border Opening, Remaining Restrictions Lifted: Premier Iain Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, announced today, March 19, that the New Brunswick border is opening and remaining restrictions in parts of Halifax Regional Municipality and surrounding communities will be lifted. Both changes are effective at 8 a.m. tomorrow, March 20. Read more.
State of Emergency Renewed:The province is renewing the state of emergency to protect the health and safety of Nova Scotians and ensure safety measures and other important actions can continue. The order will take effect at noon, Sunday, March 21, and extend to noon, Sunday, April 4, unless government terminates or extends it. Read more.

Atlantic bubble will begin by April 19, premiers confirm: The second iteration of the Atlantic bubble will begin by April 19, the Council of Atlantic Premiers announced on Thursday. The opening of the bubble, which allows people in the four Atlantic provinces to travel within the region with no self-isolation requirement, is “conditional upon COVID-19 case numbers remaining low in the region, containment of outbreaks, and ongoing advice from Atlantic Chief Medical Officers of Health,” the council said. Read more.

Active Cases of COVID-19: Two new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Nova Scotia on March 16. The National Microbiology Lab confirmed four new variant cases — two more cases of the UK variant and two more cases of the South African variant. This brings the total number of cases of the UK variant in Nova Scotia to 13 and the South African variant to 10. Read the latest COVID update from the Province.

AstraZeneca Vaccine to Roll Out March 20: Nova Scotians ages 63 and 64 will be the first group eligible to access the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine starting Saturday, March 20. The vaccine will be available at 25 locations across the province on a first come, first served basis. Read more.

Two New Cases of COVID-19, State of Emergency Renewed: Two new cases of COVID-19 are being reported in Nova Scotia today, March 5. As of today, Nova Scotia has 31 active cases of COVID-19. The province is also renewing the state of emergency to protect the health and safety of Nova Scotians and ensure safety measures and other important actions can continue. The order will take effect at noon Sunday, Mar. 7 and extend to noon Sunday, Mar. 21, unless government terminates or extends it. Read more.

Restrictions Lifted in Halifax Regional Municipality: Given low COVID-19 cases, the province is lifting or altering restrictions currently in place for Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) and its neighbouring communities. Many restrictions that came into effect on Feb. 27, such as restaurant hours, sport competitions, culture performances and non-essential travel, will end Friday, March 5 at 8 a.m. Read more.

Federal wage and rent subsidies extended until June: The federal government will extend into June two pandemic support programs that subsidize wages and rent for businesses as the country continues to struggle with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more.

COVID-19 Immunization Plan Update: The province’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout is on track, as it expands to include initial pharmacy clinics and community health-care providers.“In a few short months we have set up clinics for health-care workers, in long-term care, in the community and soon, vaccines will be available in pharmacies,” said Premier Iain Rankin. “We are taking a measured and steady approach to getting vaccines into the arms of Nova Scotians as quickly as possible.” Read more.
COVID-19 Update: One new case of COVID-19 is being reported in Nova Scotia. As of March 2, Nova Scotia has 29 active cases of COVID-19. Read more.
Property Tax Relief for Small Businesses: The Small Business Real Property Tax Rebate Program provides qualified businesses a one-time rebate of a portion of their paid property taxes. Qualified businesses can choose a rebate of $1,000 or 50 per cent of the commercial real property taxes paid for the final six months of the 2020-21 tax year. Read more.

Resource – COVID-19 Protocols for Office Workspaces from Department of Labour and Advanced Education: The Safety Branch of the Department of Labour and Advanced Education has provided CANS with updated COVID-19 Office Protocols that will help ensure the safety of workers and visitors in your workspaces, as well as mitigate the spread of COVID-19. COVID-19 Protocols for Office Workspaces provides guidance on assessing the hazard presented by the COVID-19 virus in your office environment and describes both required and recommended controls to address that hazard. Click here to access COVID-19 Protocols for Office Workspaces.