COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Tourism Industry Resource Page

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Cape Breton’s
Tourism Industry

Official Tourism Resource & Information for the Coronavirus Disease
(COVID-19) Pandemic

The Current Situation on Cape Breton Island

Last updated: September 18th, 2020

The global tourism industry is based on interactions with other people. This is especially so on Cape Breton Island where a spirit of hospitality is in our DNA. We love to welcome visitors, but public safety is paramount at this time. As a result, we want to provide you with factual and up-to-date information about the situation on Cape Breton Island.

To date, Nova Scotia has 85,288 negative test results, 1,086 positive COVID-19 cases, 65 deaths and 1 active COVID-19 case. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is actively monitoring the current outbreak and working with the World Health Organization along with other international partners.

The Current Situation

COVID-19 is an illness caused by a coronavirus. Human coronaviruses are common and are typically associated with mild illnesses, similar to the common cold. Symptoms of human coronaviruses may be very mild or more serious such as: fever, cough and difficulty breathing. Symptoms may take up to 14 days to appear after exposure to the virus.

On September 4th, Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Robert Strang stated, “We have reviewed the symptoms that our confirmed cases were presenting with and are confident that having a narrower list will still allow us to identify people with COVID-19.” Dr. Strang urges Nova Scotians to visit https://811.novascotia.ca to determine if you should call 811 for further assessment if in the past 48 hours you have had, or you are currently experiencing: fever or cough (new or worsening)

Or: Two or more of the following symptoms (new or worsening):

sore throat
runny nose
headache
shortness of breath

Nova Scotia has redeclared a state of emergency.
Gatherings limits without social distancing can occur with up to 10 people as a group. It is suggested, but not mandatory, that you form an exclusive and constant group.

Indoor gathering limit with social distancing for social events, sports and physical activity, faith gatherings, weddings, funerals, arts and culture events, festivals and special events that are run by a recognized business or organization can host 50% of the venues capacity up to 200 guests.

Outdoor gathering limit with social distancing for social events, sports and physical activity, faith gatherings, weddings, funerals, arts and culture events, festivals and special events that are run by a recognized business or organization can host 250 people maximum outdoors. Gathering limits of the same kind, held indoors or outdoors with social distancing, that is not run by a recognized business or organization (example: family barbecue) can host 50 people maximum.

Gathering limit with social distancing for sports and physical activity that are not run by a recognized business or organization – 50 people maximum indoors and outdoors (participants can have incidental close contact with each other if it’s infrequent, brief and can’t be avoided)

As of August 26th, Premier Stephen McNeil, announced that residents of long-term care homes are now able to leave for medical appointments if accompanied by a family member. The number of people a resident can identify to visit has been lifted. McNeil, also stated that before and after school programs are allowed to have groups of 15 children without enforcing the 2 meter social distancing rule.

Police are authorized to enforce orders under the Health Protection Act related to self-isolation and social distancing, and can issue summary offence tickets for people who are not adhering to those orders. Anyone who has travelled from outside the “Atlantic Bubble” will need to self-isolate for 14 days. There will be controls enforced at the borders of the province to restrict travel.

Resources:

Government of Canada: COVID-19 Information Government of Nova Scotia: COVID-19 Information Social Distancing Information Destination Canada COVID-19 Updates Tourism Nova Scotia COVID-19 Update NS Cases Data Visualization NS Gathering Restrictions NS Health Protection Act

Reopening & Adjustments

As operators begin to reopen and adjust their operations, we would like to provide some resources with guidelines that may help.

Destination Cape Breton hosted our Reopening Strategy Webinar on June 11, 2020, which included some next steps for tourism operators, an overview of our Reopening strategy and some Q&A. If you were unable to attend the webinar, please feel free to review it at the link below.

WATCH NOW

Update Your Listings

We recommend updating your business, package/experience, and event listings on novascotia.com (which feeds to visitcapebreton.com) to communicate any operational changes related to COVID-19, to help visitors with their trip planning. For more information click here.

You should update your own website and social channels as well.

Resources:

Preparing to Reopen Nova Scotia Tourism HR Recovery Toolkit Hotel Association of Canada Stay Safe Cleaning Standards Restaurants Canada & Restaurant Association of Nova Scotia Recovery Guide Campground Association of Nova Scotia Reopening Guide TIANS Safety & Prevention Measures

How is this affecting the Cape Breton Island Tourism Industry

Food Services

On June 5th, 2020, the Government of Nova Scotia announced that most businesses that were required to close under the public health order can reopen. Businesses must follow protocols in the plan that is tailored to their sector. This includes following public health protocols to ensure physical distancing, increased cleaning and other protective measures for staff and customers.

The following can open if they are ready and choose to do so:

restaurants for dine-in, as well as takeout and delivery
bars, wineries, distilleries and taprooms
lounges are not permitted to reopen at this time
personal services, such as hair salons, barber shops, spas, nail salons and body art establishments
fitness facilities, such as gyms, yoga studios and climbing facilities
veterinarians

Other health providers can also reopen on June 5, provided they follow protocols in their colleges’ and associations’ plans, as approved by public health. These include:

dentistry and other self-regulated health professions such as optometry, chiropractic and physiotherapy
unregulated health professions such as massage therapy, podiatry and naturopathy

If you are a Cape Breton Island resident, view a full list of take-out and home delivery options below. https://www.cbisland.com/things-to-do/culinary/take-out/

Parks Canada

As of July 13th, National Historic Sites have been able to reopen with limited visitor services. Locations may reduce the number of visitors allowed to enter at one time to ensure physical distancing. Please note that some buildings and lounging areas inside the historic sites will remain closed during this time.

Starting on June 22, Parks will gradually reopen camping facilities starting with select self-registration camping areas with limited capacity. Additional camping will reopen in phases, at reduced occupancy, throughout June and July. Visitors are required to have a reservation in order to camp at a Parks Canada place. Parks Canada recognizes being in nature provides important physical and mental health benefits. Going outdoors, including camping overnight, is a great way to maintain health and wellness, so long as everyone follows physical distancing practices.

Visitors should note that there are limited washroom facilities available in select areas. For more information on camping this season, please click here to learn more.

Group activities and public events are suspended until further notice. For current pass holders, Parks Canada will automatically extend the end date of Discovery Passes for the full duration of the suspended period.

To learn more about visiting Parks Canada locations during COVID-19 click here or see the FAQ link below.

Events and Conferences

We don’t know the full impact this outbreak will have on the 2020 tourism season on the Island, but it has already had a significant effect:

The Team Japan training camp that was to take place in Port Hawkesbury in advance of the IIHF Women’s World Cup has been postponed to 2021;
Science Atlantic conferences and Psychology of Language Learning conference at Cape Breton University have been cancelled;
The Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities has cancelled it’s spring conference which was scheduled for May in Sydney;
The cruise season has been delayed until October 31, 2020;
The Vince Ryan Memorial Hockey Tournament and the Wallace Bernard Memorial Native Youth Hockey Tournament have been cancelled;
The Canadian National Darts Championships, both Youth and Adults, have been cancelled;
The Cabot Trail Relay has been cancelled for the first time in history;
Granville Green Concert Series has been cancelled for this year;
Senior Little League Canadian Championships have been cancelled;
National Youth Track and Field Championships have been cancelled;
Marine Atlantic Argentia-North Sydney route has been cancelled for the summer season;
Celtic Colours International Festival will be held online only for 2020; and
Bookings are being effected.

Please Note: On August 26th, Premier Stephen McNeil stated that the government is working with four popular venues, including Centre 200, on opportunities to host larger audiences than our current gathering limits. These facilities will be able to host 200 people for indoor events and 250 people for outdoor events, but only if they follow strict criteria and have an approved and detailed action plan.