The province says they continue to be in the early signs of community spread in the central zone as it reports 44 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday— the highest single-day total seen since April 23, 2020.
The province now has 150 active cases, which is the most active cases since early December. Four Nova Scotians are in hospital.
There is no community spread detected in the Eastern, northern or western zones, the province said.
READ MORE: Province issues ‘almost a full lockdown’ on Halifax region as case count skyrockets
Seven UK variant cases have also been identified. There have been 73 cases of the UK variant, 12 cases of the South African variant and one case of the Brazil variant identified in Nova Scotia.
To curb the spread of the virus and its variants, new restrictions have were put in place on Friday in the Halifax area, as well as Hubbards, Milford, Lantz, Elmsdale, Enfield, South Uniacke, Ecum Secum and Trafalgar.
The full list of restrictions can be found here.
Rankin said on Thursday that the province is implementing what is almost a full lockdown and it will be in place for the next four weeks.
44 new cases
The province said 33 cases of the 44 cases announced on Friday are in the central zone, five of which were identified Thursday at Dartmouth South Academy in Dartmouth, Ross Road School in Westphal, Holland Road Elementary in Fletchers Lake, St. Catherine’s Elementary in Halifax and St. Joseph’s-Alexander McKay Elementary in Halifax.
Since April 18, there has been 13 COVID-19 cases connected to a school.
Five cases are in Eastern Zone, four cases are in Western Zone and two are in Northern Zone.
According to the province, one of the cases in Central Zone is a staff member at The Ivy Meadows, a long-term care facility in Beaver Bank.
READ MORE: Nova Scotia reporting five more COVID-19 cases at schools in Central Zone
Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 5,956 Nova Scotia tests on April 22.
There were 6,520 tests administered between April 16 and 22 at the rapid-testing pop-up sites in Halifax and Sackville.
As of April 22, 260,788 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 34,493 Nova Scotians have received their second dose.
Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia said it has completed 364,314 tests. There have been 849 positive COVID-19 cases and two deaths.
There are 697 resolved cases.
Suspension of in-person court proceedings
The Chief Judge of the Provincial and Family Courts announced Friday it’s suspending all in-person court proceedings in HRM for a four-week period, starting Monday, April 26 due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
This applies to the Provincial Courts in Halifax and Dartmouth only.
In-person proceedings in Provincial Courts outside HRM will proceed as scheduled, unless the presiding judge orders otherwise, according to a statement released by the courts.
In-person appearances in Halifax and Dartmouth that were scheduled between April 26 and May 21 will be adjourned and rescheduled.
-With files from Alex Cooke
