Dr. Strang, Premier Houston to give COVID-19 update as cases climb
CBC
Premier Tim Houston and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, are expected to give an update Monday as the number of COVID-19 infections continued its record-breaking climb over the weekend.
The update will be live streamed here. It's expected to begin at 2 p.m. AT.
Nova Scotia has reported 1,893 new cases of COVID-19 for the weekend — 709 on Saturday and a record 1,184 on Sunday.
The province has not provided an update on the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 since Friday. In that release, the province said there were 34 people in the hospital with COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, four of whom were in intensive care.
Strang told CBC's Information Morning on Monday that the increase in COVID-19 numbers over the weekend lines up with people gathering last weekend for Christmas. He also said he expects to see a similar bump in numbers in about a week due to New Year's Eve gatherings.
As well, Strang said masking remains "critically important," not just in schools but everywhere. He encouraged parents of school-aged children to give their kids three-layer masks to better protect them.
He said he feels the masking and other measures put in place will help protect kids when they return to school next week.
"By and large, COVID is a relatively mild illness especially in young people so we need to balance those out and so we feel where we're at today, we're still moving forward starting ... in-person learning a week from today," said Strang.
Several hospitals have reported outbreaks, including the Halifax Infirmary, Dartmouth General, the Victoria General site of the QEII Health Sciences Centre, St. Martha's Regional and New Waterford Consolidated.
Visitor restrictions have been put in place at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, Dartmouth General and Colchester East Hants Health Centre because of increased COVID-19 activity.
The province opened up access to booster dose appointments Monday morning for those 30+ who last had their second dose of vaccine at least 168 days ago.
When Aiden O’Halloran was in Grade 6, he was getting 80s on his math tests, learning fractions, angles and double-digit addition, and keeping up with his class with targeted support.
Nicole Wiercinski says being able to move into her own home in time for the holidays “feels like a dream come true.”
A group of five Liberal MPs and a lone NDP parliamentarian are planning to spend three days in Israel and the occupied West Bank, at a time of heightened tensions between Ottawa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
A commercial real estate developer well known for his philanthropic work, along with a ratepayers group and a local refugee shelter, are floating a plan to transform 10 vacant houses in a tony north Toronto neighbourhood into temporary homes for low income families.
Heavy snowfall is set to continue in the London region through Sunday, with some areas expected to receive upwards of 40 centimetres in total by the time the system moves out.
A staple of Water Street is closing its doors in downtown St. John's.
Cool temperatures and sufficient snowfall have combined to helped some Maritime ski hills add a few extra days of business to this year's season.
A Winnipeg-based rabbi says the local Jewish community must stand together in the wake of a deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia on Sunday.
More than half of Alberta adults say they would support eliminating provincial funding for private schools if the issue went to a referendum, a recent survey suggests.
The receding of floodwaters in Abbotsford, B.C., has led officials to reopen Highway 1 and downgrade some evacuation orders, though more rain is expected across the Fraser Valley and other parts of the province.
When she flew home to Edmonton from Mexico this month, Mahala Swisterski says she and her husband breathed a sigh of relief as they boarded the plane.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the door is open for American officials to restart trade talks with Canada, but the next time for direct engagement on trade will likely be when the North American free trade agreement begins its review process next month.
A winter storm rolling through the Maritimes is expected to impact much of P.E.I. on Sunday, with the system continuing to bring snow and blustery conditions into Monday.