A week-to-week increase in the number of Maritime health-care employees off work due to COVID-19 infections and exposures are adding to absences caused by early spikes in other respiratory viruses. The Nova Scotia Health Authority is reporting 129 health-care workers unable to work due to COVID-19, compared to 107 employees the week before.

Walk-in clinics are getting harder to find in Nova Scotia, especially in urban centers. The Regency Park family practice went to a reservation model for appointments during the pandemic to ensure physical distancing.

Nova Scotia reported 27 deaths related to COVID-19 and 4,769 new cases in October. There also were 234 hospitalizations, up from 206 in September, and the number of new cases was up by 105, according to the Health Department’s monthly update released Wednesday morning. 

A panel of medical professionals discusses what is at stake if Canada doesn't receive the appropriate health-care funding it needs.

B.C. dropped a shocker on Monday — $100,000-plus raises for family doctors and a fundamental shift in how they are paid. A million British Columbians don’t have a family physician. The reverberations quickly hit Nova Scotia, which is dealing with its own primary care crisis. 

Dr. Leisha Hawker is nearly six months into her tenure as president of Doctors Nova Scotia. So far, she says her position has been both rewarding but “uniquely challenging.” “It’s an interesting year, because we’re heading into negotiations in the near future,” she told CTV News in an interview on Tuesday. “So lots of chats with physicians across the province right now.”