In the 12 years Kaylee Hermiston has worked in Nova Scotia’s health-care system, never has she experienced anything like the past week and a half.

“It’s very eerie,” said Hermiston, who works as an anesthesia technician at the Halifax Infirmary and Victoria General Hospital. “Just the unknown of what’s going to come, or might come, or not come.

“But it’s amazing to see how as a team … we’re all just working together to try and be there for each other.”

As of Tuesday, there are 51 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Nova Scotia. Two of the patients needed to be hospitalized, and one has since been released.

As that number grows, hospitals across the province are gearing up for the worst.

Part of that preparation process, Hermiston says, needs to come from outside of the hospital – and she says the message isn’t completely getting through.

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“You see so many people out and about, and they don’t understand what could happen,” said Hermiston. “We could easily be Italy or the United States.

“Even though we’re a small province, it could spread through here.”

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