N.S. reports 19 new COVID-19 cases, mostly among unvaccinated
Nova Scotia reported 19 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and 29 recoveries. Fourteen of the cases are in Central Zone. Five are close contacts of previously reported cases. Nine are under investigation. Two cases are in Northern Zone, two cases are in Eastern Zone, and one case is in Western Zone. Nova Scotia now has 127 active cases of COVID-19. Of those, 10 people are in hospital COVID-19 units.
Officials say there remain signs of community spread in the Halifax area among people aged 20 to 40 who are unvaccinated and participating in social activities. In a news release, Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, says most of the people contracting the virus haven’t been vaccinated, and he’s urging people who haven’t had their shots, “please don’t wait.” According to provincial data, 79.7 per cent of Nova Scotians have had one dose of a vaccine, while 73.8 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated.
N.S. Health’s latest notice of potential exposure to COVID-19 in the province, includes a Bible Hill eatery. A COVID-19 Precaution Notification is in place for Roadside Willies Smokehouse & Bar for September 17 from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Anyone present for at least fifteen minutes during this period is required to follow self-isolation and testing requirements based on vaccination status. Please get tested at a COVID-19 testing centre or public health mobile unit; do not go to a pop-up rapid testing location. All potential exposure notifications are listed here: http://www.nshealth.ca/covid-exposures
The province says drop-in COVID-19 testing will be offered at the Tatamagouche Fire Hall today from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Testing is available to all ages, which includes the swish and gargle test for children and youth.
Further deliveries of COVID-19 vaccines to Canada are on pause because provinces already have more doses than they can currently use. Canada was to get 95 million doses of vaccine from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna by the end of September, but is about 20 million doses shy of that as of Wednesday. But Canada is already sitting on a stockpile of 18.7 million doses and doesn’t need any more to fully vaccinate eligible people over the age of 12. That includes 8.5 million doses shipped to provinces and not yet used and 10.2 million in a federal stockpile provinces can turn to if they need it. As of Wednesday 80 per cent of eligible Canadians were fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and another seven per cent have their first shot. At most Canada would need 11 million doses to finish vaccinating everyone over 12. As such, all provinces stopped requesting new doses by the end of August, and Canada has told suppliers not to send any more shipments for the time being. Canadian officials are currently in talks with suppliers and other countries that need vaccines working on plans to donate Canada’s excess doses of Pfizer and Moderna. (The Canadian Press)
Most postal votes have now been tallied: Elections Canada
Photo credit: The Canadian Press
Elections Canada officials are making headway thumbing through hundreds of thousands of mail-in ballots from Monday’s federal election. Of the few dozen ridings that The Canadian Press considered too close to call on election night, about 10 remain undeclared this morning. Seven ridings were declared last night for the Liberals, the NDP has won a seat in Nunavut to keep that seat N-D-P, and the Bloc Quebecois has won two more seats. Elections officials say all final numbers may not be known until Friday.
Gas prices down, diesel up in N.B
A drop in New Brunswick gas prices overnight with regular self-serve down 1.9 cents. Meanwhile, diesel is up 2.5 cents per litre. Nova Scotia sets its fuel prices at midnight tonight.
