There seem to be mixed signals coming from the provincial government.
On March 21, most province-wide public health restrictions were lifted, including gathering limits, physical distancing and mask requirements. Some measures will remain in place for high-risk settings, such as health care and long-term care, the provincial government noted in a press release.
As a result, the province said there are no gathering limits or capacity limits, but people should still keep their social groups small and consistent, and make careful choices about the gatherings they attend.
The province said physical distance is no longer required between individuals and groups, although distancing is still recommended.
Businesses and organizations across all sectors can resume full operations with no mandatory public health restrictions, the province said, noting that special events including festivals, sports, performances, meetings, training and faith ceremonies can resume in full.
In long-term care facilities, the province said: residents can have five visitors at a time if the facility can accommodate them; larger groups of visitors are permitted for special occasions like a resident’s birthday or anniversary if the facility can accommodate them; visitors need to wear a mask and be fully vaccinated, except for end-of-life visits; and regardless of vaccination status, residents can leave the facility for any reason, including overnight visits with family.
The Nova Scotia Health Authority and IWK Health Centre will continue with mask requirements and visitor restrictions, the province noted.
Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 needs to self-isolate, complete the online self-assessment, and book an appointment for testing, the province said, noting that people who are at increased risk for severe disease, live in congregate settings or are integral to keeping the health system running are directed to book a PCR test. They said everyone else is directed to use rapid tests, and people who test positive on a rapid test can book a PCR test to confirm the result.
The province recommends that people keep a rapid test kit at home in case they need it since rapid testing can help protect people at increased risk of severe disease, such as people who are older or immunocompromised. Rapid tests continue to be distributed through schools for this purpose and are available in many community locations, they said.
The province said people who test positive for COVID-19 will still be required to self-isolate for seven days from the date symptoms started, or from the date of a positive test if there are no symptoms. Although there is no requirement to notify contacts outside a person’s household, they said people are encouraged to do so, especially for those who are at increased risk. Contacts are not required to isolate as long as they are symptom-free and test negative, whether they live with the person who tested positive or not, they province said.
Although masks will no longer be required, the province said wearing one in indoor public places or crowded outdoor places is strongly recommended.
In fact, the province said masking remains mandatory in public schools for a few more weeks.
The province said in public schools, staff and students will follow the updated guidance in the Back to School Plan, including: masking for staff, students and visitors remains in place for a few more weeks during school hours and on school buses; visitors and spectators will need to wear masks in schools during school instructional hours for a few more weeks; staff and students are asked to follow core public health measures such as getting vaccinated if eligible, staying home if feeling unwell, following the COVID-19 daily checklist, washing and sanitizing hands frequently; music, band, arts and sports in schools can resume in full; tournaments, concerts and extracurricular activities are permitted; and planning for graduation can proceed.
Premier Tim Houston acknowledged the “mixed emotions” among parents and students regarding this decision, but after eight of the province’s leading pediatric doctors spoke up, and after speaking with experts, Houston felt this change made sense.
In comparison, Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, commented that “the pandemic isn’t over. COVID-19 is still in our communities and for some, it remains a deadly virus.”
Although most provincial restrictions are coming to an end, Strang said healthy habits should not. He recommends people should still wear a mask when they’re out, get vaccinated, stay home when sick, test to protect vulnerable people, and keep gatherings small.
In a press release issued last week, the Official Opposition Liberals said the March 18 provincial COVID-19 briefing was “an exercise in contradictions,” with government no longer requiring restrictions while public health still strongly recommending them. He said it also included a “walk-back of the easing of mask mandates in schools,” which was the right decision but one that should have been made weeks ago when medical experts first spoke out against it.
Noting the contradictions, Liberal leader Iain Rankin said Strang warned people to avoid crowded indoor places and mask up as often as possible, while the premier said Nova Scotians have been conditioned to fear COVID-19.
Because a pandemic is inherently unpredictable, Rankin said the last thing people need is the government adding to that uneasiness with heedless “mixed messaging.”
During these times of uncertainty, Rankin said the public could always count on information from Nova Scotia Public Health in its entirety.
The former premier said limiting information during a pandemic is “negligent at best. It’s a disservice to people who use it to help inform their every day decisions, and it’s detrimental for the epidemiologists who track that information to better understand the virus.”
Rankin said he hasn’t “heard one persuasive reason from the premier as to why important data tracking under his leadership has stopped.”
Since restrictions cannot be replaced “with a black hole of information,” and people cannot be expected to tolerate record-setting death rates if they haven’t been given an accurate depiction of what’s really been going on, the Liberal caucus said it will continue to take its cues from public health and be masked up at the Nova Scotia Legislature.
In the absence of critical information, Rankin said a “judicious approach is the necessary one.”
Judging by the differing messages given from Strang and Houston during that media briefing on March 18, it seems the government wants to open up as much as possible, as soon as possible, while its medical experts are warning that a more gradual opening, that maintains mask mandates, is the better course of action.
Given that the doctors are offering unbiased medical advice, as they’ve been trained to do, and the government is comprised of politicians seeking re-election, the advice of experts should be followed, first and foremost.
The politicians would be deserving of more trust had this current administration not eliminated daily COVID-19 numbers, mandated masking, and not left it up to people to make “careful choices.”
The fact is, the public needs and deserves to know as much information as possible to make good choices, and rather than leaving it up to everyone to always take the correct course of action, the government needs to show leadership by keeping mask protocols in place, until the numbers go down to a level where they’re no longer necessary.
If Nova Scotians want to spend this summer as they deserve to, now is the best time to reopen cautiously.
If not, this could result in climbing COVID-19 case numbers, hospitalizations, and deaths; something nobody wants to see.