HALIFAX — Nova Scotia is reporting two more COVID-19 related deaths today and 83 new cases of the virus.

Health officials say a man in his 60s has died in the province’s eastern zone and a woman in her 60s has died in the Halifax area, bringing the total number of deaths since the pandemic began to 74. 

Officials have identified 59 new cases in the Halifax area, 19 in the province’s eastern zone, three in the western region and two in the northern zone.

Two cases in the eastern zone involve a resident and a worker at Harbourstone Enhanced Care, a long-term care facility in Sydney, N.S., while a third case involves a staff member of My Cape Breton Home for Seniors in North Sydney, N.S.

Officials say staff and residents in the affected units of both facilities are being tested, and residents are being cared for in their rooms.

The province has 1,262 known active cases of COVID-19, with 101 people in hospital, including 20 in intensive care.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 19, 2021.

The Canadian Press