The province is extending clinic hours and opening more clinics as part of its efforts to ramp up the COVID-19 vaccine rollout so all Nova Scotians can be fully vaccinated by the end of August.
More than 245,000 doses of the Moderna vaccine will arrive by the end of June, in addition to regular shipments of the Pfizer vaccine. Together, these shipments are enough to vaccinate half of the province’s eligible population.
To support an accelerated timeline, the province has:
— invited people who received their first dose to move their second dose appointment forward and will continue to do so until every person who received their first dose in Nova Scotia has an opportunity to reschedule for an earlier appointment
— reduced the second dose interval for anyone in Nova Scotia who received a first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine to 28 days
— reduced the second dose interval for anyone who received a first dose of Pfizer or Moderna to 35 days
— increased the number of people who can schedule into a single appointment at a drive-thru clinic from one person to four; this allows up to four people in one vehicle to receive their vaccine at the same time
Moving forward, more changes to create greater access to vaccine will include:
— extending hours in clinics across the province to include more evenings and weekends to accommodate more appointments
— increasing the human resource capacity required to immunize more people
— converting two primary assessment centres into community vaccination clinics in Halifax (Bayers Lake) and New Glasgow
— opening a temporary community vaccination clinic in Berwick
— reopening the health-care worker vaccination clinic at St. Martha’s Regional Hospital in Antigonish for scheduled appointments for the general public
— the Nova Scotia Health Authority and Department of Health and Wellness, in partnership with the Immigrant Services Association of Nova Scotia and Halifax Refugee Clinic, have organized an additional vaccine clinic for newcomers; it will take place at the Newcomer Health Clinic in Halifax on June 26 and 27 for clinic patients
The province has also partnered with the Halifax Convention Centre, Canadian Armed Forces, Canadian Red Cross and IWK Health Centre to open a community vaccination clinic in the Nova Centre. This clinic is scheduled to open later this week to immunize people with scheduled second doses.
Nova Scotia is leading the country in first dose vaccinations at 71.1 per cent. The national average is 66 per cent.
Province reports zero new COVID-19 cases Monday
On Monday, Nova Scotia reported four recoveries and no new cases of COVID-19 for the first time in nearly 3 months. Premier Iain Rankin called it a great way to begin summer. He said that epidemiology is headed in the right direction, but in order for Nova Scotia to continue to see low to no new cases, we must all follow the public health measures and get fully vaccinated as soon as possible. Nova Scotia has 79 active cases of COVID-19. Of those, three people are in hospital COVID-19 units, including one in ICU. Premier Rankin and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, will provide a COVID-19 update today at 3 p.m. No new cases were reported in New Brunswick or PEI on Monday. Newfoundland and Labrador did not provide an update Monday as it was a provincial holiday.
Border measures are slated to ease in two weeks. The first stage in loosening the border restrictions — in place for 15 months — will begin at 11:59 p-m Eastern time on July 5th. Fully vaccinated Canadians and permanent residents will be able to return to Canada without a mandatory quarantine. There are still a number of stipulations: eligible travellers must provide a negative COVID-19 test from 72 hours before arrival, take a second test upon arrival, and have a quarantine plan if they test positive.
RCMP charge two youths in Stewiacke with armed robbery
Colchester County District RCMP have charged two young people after responding to a report of an armed robbery in Stewiacke. At about 11:40 p.m. last Friday, police were called to an armed robbery, during which a man was threatened with a knife and assaulted before the suspects stole his vehicle and fled the scene. The victim wasn’t injured. Police were provided with a description of the stolen vehicle, and it was later located in Dartmouth. A traffic stop was conducted, and two young suspects were taken into custody without incident. They’ll soon be appearing in court. Police believe that other suspects were involved in the incident, and the investigation is ongoing.
New Glasgow Regional Police-RCMP Northeast Traffic Services take part in “Click it or Ticket” Campaign
Starting today, New Glasgow Regional Police and RCMP Northeast Traffic Services are taking part in Operation Click-it or Ticket Campaign, which is aimed at reminding drivers and passengers to buckle up every time they get into a vehicle. Wearing a seatbelt properly. reduces your chances of serious injury and or death if you become involved in a collision. In Nova Scotia fines for not wearing a seatbelt under the Motor Vehicle Act start at $180 for the first offence, including adding two points to your license.
KidSport Nova Scotia Increasing Grant Amounts To $500
KidSport has received $2 million of the $5 million in one-time funding Premier Iain Rankin had announced in March to make the Nova Scotia Sport sector more inclusive and accessible. With this funding, Kidsport says it plans to make an even greater impact. For the next two years, KidSport Nova Scotia will increase their grant amounts from $300 to $500. They also forecast that they’ll be able to write cheques for 3,200 children per year, compared to a record of about 2,400 in previous years.
