HALIFAX — Nova Scotia is hoping to move into Phase 5 of its COVID-19 reopening plan in just over two weeks – something those working in the restaurant industry have been looking forward to.
"It's a big deal for us,” said Luc Erjavec with Restaurants Canada. “Particularly the elimination of physical distancing, because that is our limiting factor. We cannot get enough people in our restaurants to make them profitable because of physical distancing."
According to Erjavec, many restaurants in the region are still struggling.
"Our last member survey showed that 55 per cent of operators are operating at a loss. Twenty per cent are breaking even, nine per cent are operating at less than a two per cent profit, so while we may seem busy, we just can't fill enough seats,” said Erjavec.
In order to move into Phase 5 of the reopening plan on Sept. 15, at least 75 per cent of Nova Scotia’s entire population needs to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19. As of Monday, 70.8 per cent of the province’s population is double-dosed.
"That's about 40,000 people we need to get to 75 per cent fully vaccinated. We've got 25,000 who are already booked in, we've got another 15,000 at least that we need to book, so it's absolutely doable if everyone gets in there and makes their appointment,” said Tracey Barbrick, deputy minister in charge of the vaccine rollout in Nova Scotia.
There are currently 71 active COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia.
As of Monday, 1,443,183 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in the province. Of those, 687,683 Nova Scotians have received their second dose.
Outreach teams continue to travel across the province to make vaccines more accessible. Starting Tuesday, health officials will be doing a tour through the Northern health zone to increase access to vaccines for those in New Glasgow, Springhill, Five Islands and Great Village.
"They're just trying to get as close to home as they can for people to make it really accessible and achievable and have people not need to travel very far and if they happen to pull into a parking lot and see a vaccine van, then maybe they'll just pop by and get a dose so, it's just to make it is as convenient as possible,” said Barbrick.
Due to an increase in demand, the vaccine clinic at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax will be open from Sept. 1 to Sept. 3 for drop-in appointments.
According to Barbrick, there are still roughly 100,000 Nova Scotians who are eligible for a vaccine but have not yet received their first dose.
