Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, announced further measures on March 24 to strengthen the health system amid COVID-19.

Among these measures is the clarification of essential service sectors in the province, which are exempt from the five-person-or-fewer gathering rules.

Essential service sectors in Nova Scotia are:

• Heath
• Food, agri-food and fisheries
• Transportation, including trucking, rail and transit
• Construction and manufacturing
• IT, telecommunications and critical infrastructure
• Public services, such as police, fire and ambulances

Individuals within these essential services must still maintain social distancing and other public health protocols.

Other measures include increased testing for COVID-19, doubling of lab capacity to accommodate increased testing, and expanding virtual care for physicians, nurse practitioners and others to offer their services through telephone or video.

A full list of Nova Scotia’s measures to help stop the spread of COVID-19 can be found at https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20200324003.