Nova Scotia health officials set to announce whether province will fully reopen

Health officials in Nova Scotia are expected to announce today whether the province will move into the final phase of its COVID-19 recovery plan.

Phase 5 is scheduled to be implemented on Wednesday if at least 75 per cent of all Nova Scotians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

As of Monday, however, about 72.5 per cent of the population had been fully vaccinated, and Premier Tim Houston has said the 75 per cent target was “very firm.”

The last phase would see the removal of most of the public health measures that have been in place since the onset of the pandemic, such as indoor masking and gathering limits.

Officials reported 73 new cases of COVID-19 over the three-day period covering Sept. 11-13.

That figure included 36 new cases in the northern zone, where health officials said there was a large cluster of linked cases within a “defined group” it did not identify.