If all goes according to plan, Nova Scotia will drop almost every pandemic-related public health restriction by the middle of September.
Premier Designate Tim Houston says he will move the province into Phase 5 of its Covid-19 recovery on Sept. 15, as long as Nova Scotians continue to get vaccinated.
In a press conference today, Houston said he expects 72 percent of Nova Scotians to be fully vaccinated by the end of August. Public health officials believe that number will reach 75 percent by the middle of September.
Based on that projection, Houston is setting Sept. 15 as the target date to move the province into Phase 5 of its recovery process.
However, Houston said “if we hit the target sooner, we’ll work with public health to open sooner.”
According to Houston, Phase 5 means “no restrictions or mandatory public health measures” like masks or gathering limits. But some restrictions will remain at the province’s border.
International travellers must continue to follow federal requirements. Travellers from within Canada (except most of Atlantic Canada) will have to self-isolate only if they’re unvaccinated.
Unvaccinated, or partially vaccinated travellers entering Nova Scotia from New Brunswick will have to quarantine when they arrive. Partially vaccinated travellers will have to quarantine for one week, while unvaccinated travellers will have to quarantine for two weeks.
Houston said the government expects the measures to “impact a very small number of people.”
Houston said that, based on the rising case numbers in New Brunswick, these travel restrictions will begin on August 25.
Dr Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, pointed out New Brunswick has seen a rise in cases recently and that some of Nova Scotia’s cases are directly linked to that province.
However, Strang said case numbers in Nova Scotia are generally manageable and there are “not yet any signs of community spread.”
Strang said a fourth wave of the pandemic will likely arrive soon in Nova Scotia but that it will impact mostly unvaccinated people.
He stressed that vaccines will be how Nova Scotia eventually gets Covid-19 under control.
“Covid 19 has started to move from a pandemic to a more regular part of our lives, but we need to begin to live with Covid. To do that, we need enough nova Scotians to get fully vaccinated,” he said. “When that happens is ultimately up to us.”
This post originally appeared on Huddle.Today, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
