[ Sign up for our Health IQ newsletter for the latest coronavirus updates ]A spokesperson for N.S. Health, Carla Adams, said surgeons’ offices are working to screen patients to see if they meet these or other criteria for COVID-19 testing, such as travel or close contacts.“If testing is required, most patients can expect to be scheduled for testing in their community in the 72 hours leading up to their surgery,” Adams said in an email sent to Global.She also noted that other patients, including those requiring emergency surgery, may undergo testing in hospital on the day of their surgery.“For their safety and to avoid unnecessary delays in surgeries, we are also beginning to once again advise surgical patients to limit their movement in.