HALIFAX - With a mounting COVID-19 death toll in Nova Scotia and hospitalizations connected to the disease at an all-time high, the Nova Scotia government will keep restrictions launched just prior to Christmas in effect until Valentine's Day. 

Premier Tim Houston and the province's Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Strang, have confirmed that a wide-ranging series of rules - including tight gathering limits for households, restaurants, licensed establishments, faith gatherings, retail outlets, salons, gyms and long-term-care facilities - will stay in effect until February 14 at the earliest. 

The extension of restrictions came as Nova Scotia reported three more deaths as a result of COVID-19 - raising the weekly total to 13 and the monthly total to 30 - while confirming that 312 Nova Scotians are currently being treated for COVID-19 in hospitals throughout the province. 

However, Dr. Strang and the premier also pointed out that there is a chance that some of these rules could be relaxed prior to the February 14 extension date. Dr. Strang noted that his office is currently working with provincial officials to see if regulations specifically regarding participation in sports practices and arts-and-culture rehearsals can be relaxed sometime in February. 

Adding to this air of cautious optimism, Premier Houston noted that the province is not planning a formal COVID-19 media briefing for next week, and is hoping to hold off on such an update until the second week of February. 

With over 400,000 Nova Scotians having received their booster dose of vaccination to prevent the further spread of the Omicron variant, Dr. Strang and Premier Houston also confirmed that several community vaccination clinics established as part of this campaign would close down in the coming days. These include the Antigonish clinic, which closes today (Thursday), and the Sydney clinic, which shuts down tomorrow (Friday).

At the same time, the St. Peter's Lions' Club reported that it had rescheduled the rapid-test-kit pick-up clinic originally scheduled for January 21. The Lions' Hall in the village will now welcome local residents between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. tomorrow (Friday) morning.