N.S. Power activates Emergency Operations Centre
Twitter Photo: @nspowerinc
Nova Scotia Power is activating its Emergency Operations Centre as we deal with the fifth major winter storm to hit the province in the last four weeks. It’s positioning power line crews, forestry and other teams across the province, so they are ready to safely respond as quickly as possible to outages and emergencies. The storm is bringing significant snowfall, ice pellets, freezing rain and rain to the province today and into Saturday morning.
Fuel prices hit record highs in Nova Scotia
Fuel prices have hit record highs in the province after a 6.1 cent per litre increase overnight. Gas is $1.537 per litre in the local area and diesel is $1.607.
Nova Scotia reports 4 COVID-19 deaths Thursday
Nova Scotia has reported four more deaths related to COVID-19. Officials say three women in their 60s, 80s and 90s have died in the Halifax area while a man in his 90s died in the eastern zone. There have been 11 deaths reported over the last three days. Officials say 351 people are currently in hospital with an infection and they identified 401 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 yesterday.
Because of the inclement weather, COVID-19 testing centres in Amherst, Truro and New Glasgow will be closed today and Saturday morning. They will reopen at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Appointments will be added on Saturday to meet potential increased demand from the closure. **UPDATED**Pop-up rapid testing at the Pictou Legion has now been cancelled for the day due to road conditions.
Due to high case numbers of COVID-19, driven by the Omicron variant, Public Health continues to experience delays in follow-up with people who have tested positive. To focus on doing follow-ups in priority cases, such as those in long-term care, group homes, assisted living facilities and shelters, Public Health will not be providing follow-up to some individuals who tested positive for COVID-19. Anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 between January 21 and 29 will not receive a call from Public Health. The notification they received confirming their test result will be their only contact with Public Health. Most people will now receive their COVID-19 positive test results through an automated email or online.
Pictou man faces weapons charges following search connected to online video
RCMP say a Pictou man is to appear in court in May after a search last week turned up five restricted firearms, prohibited magazines, body armour and ammunition. Police are yet to file charges and haven’t identified the man, but according to search warrant documents filed with the court he is 35-year old Jeremy MacKenzie of Pictou. He was arrested without incident on January 26th and was released on conditions, which include that he not possess any firearms, weapons, ammunition or explosive substances. He is to appear in provincial court in Port Hawkesbury May 30.
Downtown streets in the nation’s capital remain clogged with trucks of all sizes and the blaring of truck horns continues near Parliament Hill. However, late Thursday night federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino said the R-C-M-P had approved Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson’s request for Mounties to support city police. Mendicino said the convoy has caused significant disruptions for local residents including vandalism, harassment, expressions of hate and violence and ongoing obstruction of many services. The minister added that the people of Ottawa ”deserve to feel safe in their community.” (The Canadian Press)
Sports note:
The Maritime Junior Hockey League says tonight’s postponed game between the Pictou County Weeks Crushers and the South Shore Lumberjacks in Lunenburg has been rescheduled for March 20th.
