Nova Scotia reports three more COVID-19-related deaths, high pressure on hospitals
Photo credit: Communications Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia’s premier highlighted the severity of the COVID-19 situation in the province on Wednesday, after health officials reported three more deaths attributed to the novel coronavirus. Eight people have died of COVID-19 in the last three days. The deaths reported Wednesday, all in the Halifax area, involved a man in his 60s as well as a man and a woman in their 80s. A total of 15 people have died since the onset of the Omicron variant-fuelled COVID-19 wave in Nova Scotia on Dec. 8. Tim Houston said 83 people have been admitted to hospital as a result of being no longer able to manage their COVID-19 symptoms at home. Twelve patients are in intensive care. Officials reported 11 new hospital admissions Wednesday, bringing the total number of people in hospital with the disease to 256. That number includes people who contracted the virus in hospital or who were admitted for non-COVID-19 reasons and tested positive through routine screening.
Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health, said the province’s health system continues to be under “tremendous pressure.” Hospitals are beyond 100 per cent capacity in many cases, he added. “It is an extremely delicate balance,” Strang said. “Most non-COVID programs and services have had to be reduced so that COVID care can be provided and also to maintain emergency and urgent care for other health issues.” Strang said the best way the public can help alleviate the pressure is to observe COVID-19 protocols and “slow down” their lives. He also stressed the importance of getting vaccinated, noting that 83 per cent of eligible residents have had two doses of vaccine. Officials reported an additional 527 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday and estimated there were 5,511 active infections. (The Canadian Press)
There will be POP-UP Testing this Friday, January 21st at Pictou Legion from 11am-3pm. Tests kits will be provided while quantities last.
Nova Scotia looking to fill temporary positions in long-term care facilities
Healthcare workers not currently in the workforce are being asked to fill positions in long-term care facilities to address staffing shortages caused by the pandemic and ongoing vacancies. Temporary, short-term and long-term paid positions are available now. Health Association Nova Scotia is partnering with the Department of Seniors and Long-Term Care to recruit people with needed skills and training who are retired or not currently working in the sector, as well as those who are working on a part-time basis and can move to full-time hours on a temporary basis. More information, including how to apply, is available at: https://www.healthassociation.ns.ca/sites/base/pages/continuingcarerecruitment All applicants will receive a follow-up call from the association.
Public Health no longer issuing potential exposures
Public Health has changed its approach to manage the significant increase in COVID-19 activity across the province. Most Nova Scotians who are positive for COVID-19 will identify and contact their close contacts. As a result, Public Health says it no longer has the necessary information to report accurate exposure sites and locations, and therefore, will no longer be issuing exposure notifications.
Man arrested 3 months after being charged in death of Prabhjot Singh Katri
Truro Police say they arrested a 22-year-old man Wednesday afternoon, three months after he was charged in connection to the killing of Prabhjot Singh Katri last September. Officers arrested Marcus Michael Denny of Pictou Landing First Nation, during a traffic stop yesterday on Young St. He was wanted for accessory after the fact in the murder of Katri who was killed in Truro in September 2021. Denny was also wanted on arrest warrants for violent offences in Pictou and Colchester Counties. Police say he will remain in custody, with the Truro Police Service, while an investigation is ongoing. Two other men have been charged in relation to Katri’s death. Twenty-year-old Cameron James Prosper from the Pictou Landing First Nation was arrested four days after the incident and has been charged with second-degree murder. Twenty-one-year-old Dylan Robert MacDonald of Valley is charged with being an accessory after the fact to murder.
Wanted Colchester County man arrested, held in custody
RCMP say a Nova Scotia man wanted on a provincewide arrest warrant after disappearing into the woods north of Bible Hill last November has been arrested in Ontario. Police say the warrant was issued after they responded to a report about a man possibly with a firearm who was allegedly making threats to harm himself and a woman he knew. They say the 27-year-old man from Upper Brookside had driven into the woods on an A-T-V but was not located despite an extensive search. The Mounties say Michael Sinton was arrested without incident in Oshawa, Ontario, last Thursday and has been returned to Nova Scotia to face more than 30 charges related to intimate partner violence and other offences.
RCMP say they’ve charged nearly 1,400 people with impaired driving related offenses in Nova Scotia in 2021. On Wednesday, the Mounties released statistics for all RCMP detachments in Nova Scotia for 2021. Those stats show that there were 668 drivers charged with Impaired Driving by Alcohol; 102 were charged with Impaired Driving by Drug; 114 were charged with Refusal of a Demand Made by a Peace Officer; and 514 were issued driving suspensions for Driving While Having Consumed Alcohol.
2022 HEAT Fund open for applications
People in Nova Scotia in urgent need of help with home heating costs can now apply for financial assistance through The Salvation Army. Applications for the 2022 Home Energy Assistance Top-up (HEAT) Fund opened on Monday. The Province, through Service Nova Scotia and Internal Services, and Nova Scotia Power work together with The Salvation Army to make the Fund available for those experiencing heat insecurity. The province contributes $800,000 annually and Nova Scotia Power gives $200,000 annually to the Fund. Nova Scotia Power Maritime Link Inc. also contributed to the 2021 HEAT Fund to provide support to electricity customers who have been hardest hit by the financial challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, more than 4,700 households received emergency home heating support.
Fuel prices up in N.B. overnight
Fuel prices went up in New Brunswick overnight. Gas increased 3.1 cents and diesel jumped four cents per litre. Nova Scotia sets its fuel prices at midnight tonight.
