HALIFAX, N.S. —

Two more people have died of COVID-19 at the Northwood long-term care home in Halifax, but the province is near the end of the first wave as only one new case was detected in Thursday’s testing.

Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer of health, and Premier Stephen McNeil announced the findings Friday during their regular pandemic update.

The two deaths bring the total in the province related to COVID-19 to 46, including 40 at Northwood

“That highlights the ongoing serious nature of this virus,” Strang said. “But I’m pleased to be able to report, as the premier said, we only have, despite testing 840 individuals (Thursday), we only have one new positive case, which is really good news.”

The premier announced that Nova Scotia schools will remain closed for the remainder of the school year as measures to minimize the spread of the disease continue.

He also said the province hopes to reopen daycare facilities around June 8 as it slowly allows some parts of the economy to resume, should that be warranted.

“Dr. Strang will consult with you, as he does with everyone else, to help you understand the guidelines and protocols to help you reopen safely,” McNeil said. “A final decision will be made closer to June 8. I’ve asked (Education) Minister (Zach) Churchill and his team to work with daycare operators who are doing this during this transition.”

Strang spent much of the online video update going through slides that were part of public presentations to “stakeholders” this week, as he and the premier rebutted reports that they shared plans for relaxing pandemic mitigation measures with the business community.

At times seeming irate, McNeil scolded media for suggesting he and Strang had not been upfront with the public. He said it was part of consultation supported by national public health guidelines that recommend seeking input.

“There are no dates or timelines attached to this and that’s because we have not completed the consultation, and we have to monitor COVID,” McNeil said. “When the consultations are complete, we will come back to Nova Scotians with a plan as we phase in on how we open up our economy.”

Strang’s presentation included a graph showing the progress of infections in the province and tracing a clear curve that is now on the far side of the peak.

“The good news is, if you look at the far right of that curve, this is a typical epidemic curve,” Strang said. “We are very much at the end of the first wave of COVID-19, which is good news.

“But we have to be careful. The wave is not finished yet.”

He said he wants to see two incubation periods go by without further infections to determine the wave is over. That’s 28 days total.

“We have to be very careful, even though the curve looks good, we’re on the right trajectory, it’s still early on yet to … make rapid and broad changes in reopening.”

He said the province is likely to see smaller peaks in the next few months that would need to be controlled carefully and quickly. A second wave is expected in the fall and next winter.

“This is a many-month process as we go through peaks and valleys and potentially a second wave, and maybe even a third wave,” Strang said. “Public health people talk about 12 to 18 months till we’ve finally get enough immunity in the population that we finally stabilize around COVID-19.”

Physical distancing, hygiene practices, limiting non-essential travel, staying home and the other mitigation measures are still recommended for that time.

Only after careful monitoring of the disease trajectories, risk assessment, and consultation with businesses, communities and organizations can a very slow reopening go forward, Strang said, adding that while stimulating the economy again is important, there may need to be rollbacks of some measures.

“There are other parts of the world, even other parts of Canada, that are going faster than we are, and we will learn from them,” Strang said. “Maybe we will learn the lesson that we can actually go a little faster, but they may actually learn a lesson from us. … Slow and steady is … a long-term strategy that we have to have.”

The slow relaxing of restrictions will start with some businesses and proceed with child care, outdoor activities, some health-care services that have been delayed, essential cultural events like funerals and memorial services, and starting to slowly allow an increase in the number of people allowed to gather.

“This will be a sequenced phase, step by step by step, done very slowly and carefully over the weeks and months ahead,” Strang said. “There (are) no firm dates on this. We’re going to have to ask people to be patient and be flexible as we move through this. But it’s important that we move this through in a balanced and monitored way.”

Both McNeil and Strang asked Nova Scotians to celebrate Mother’s Day carefully.

“This Mother’s Day, like other special occasions that we have right now, cannot be like it has in the past. So for those who are in the same household as each other, certainly celebrate Mother’s Day as you always would.

“But for those of you who do not live with your mom, please, we need to find a way to tell your mom that you love her, thank her, either virtually or in person while respecting social distancing.”

The province now has a total of 1,008 confirmed cases of the disease.

Northwood has 156 residents and 38 staff with active cases. One other long-term care facility in the province has one staff member with an active case of COVID-19.

The province asks that anyone who has two or more symptoms that include fever, new or worsening cough, sore throat, runny nose or headache visit https://811.novascotia.ca to determine if a further 811 call for additional assessment is warranted.

To date, Nova Scotia has 32,835 negative test results, 1,008 positive COVID-19 test results and 46 deaths. Confirmed cases range in age from under 10 to over 90. Five individuals are currently in hospital, two of those in intensive care, and 722 individuals have recovered and their cases of COVID-19 are considered resolved. Cases have been identified in all parts of the province.

Authorities continue to ask Nova Scotians to stick to public health directives on social distancing, limiting essential gatherings to no more than five people, staying at home as much as possible and practising good hygiene.

Up-to-date information, handwashing posters and fact sheets can be accessed online at https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus .