Nova Scotia reported 149 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday
Nova Scotia reported 149 new cases of COVID-19 and 119 recoveries on Wednesday. Of those 149 cases, 116 of them are in Central Zone, 13 in Western Zone, 11 in Eastern Zone and nine in Northern Zone. Nova Scotia has 1,621 active cases of COVID-19. Nova Scotia Health has activated a special plan to increase intensive care bed capacity in response to a surge this week of patients requiring the highest level of care. So far five I-C-U patients have been transferred out of Halifax to intensive care in northern and western zones of the province. Last night, Nova Scotia Health said there were 20 COVID-19 patients in Nova Scotia Health hospital ICUs, and there are also 47 more patients in ICUs for non-COVID-19 reasons. Public Health says the proportion of those patients requiring intensive care has been higher than anticipated.
Nova Scotia Health Public Health is advising of potential exposure to COVID-19 at various locations across the province and two Air Canada flights. All potential exposure notifications are listed here: http://www.nshealth.ca/covid-exposures
Effective immediately, Nova Scotia will pause the use of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine as the first dose. The province says the decision is based on an abundance of caution due to an increase in the rare blood clotting condition linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine and because Nova Scotia has enough mRNA vaccine to immunize people age 40 and older. Anyone who is scheduled to receive their first dose of AstraZeneca vaccine will be contacted by their clinic for a new appointment for either a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine in a timely manner.
Nova Scotians who must take time off work due to COVID-19 may now qualify for up to four paid sick days under the province’s new COVID-19 Sick Leave Program. The $16-million program is expected to help more than 100,000 Nova Scotians. People who cannot work remotely and miss less than 50 per cent of their scheduled work time in a one-week period due to COVID-19 may be eligible. The sick days do not have to be taken consecutively. Any sick days taken between May 10, 2021, and July 31, 2021, may be eligible for the program.
Preliminary results of an ongoing study in the United Kingdom suggest alternating the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines causes more frequent mild to moderate symptoms. They have not yet determined how a combination of shots would affect the immune system’s response compared with sticking with the same COVID-19 vaccine for both the prime and booster shots. Chief investigator Matthew Snape says the results from the study suggest mixed dose schedules could result in an increase in work absences the day after immunization. He says that is important to consider when planning immunization of health-care workers. Horacio Bach, an infectious diseases expert at the University of British Columbia, says the small size of the initial study does not make it possible to know whether some people would get severe reactions from mixing the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines. (The Canadian Press)
Another increase in fuel prices in New Brunswick.
Regular self-serve gas went up 1.4 cents. Diesel had a 2.1 cent jump. Nova Scotia will set its fuel prices at midnight.
Change in Leadership for Johnny Miles Events
After twenty-five years as Race Directors of the Johnny Miles Running Events, Terry and Carol Curley will be stepping aside in 2022 and the YMCA of Pictou County will assume responsibility for the operations of the Johnny Miles Series of events. “This has been a very emotional decision for us. The Johnny Miles events have been a huge part of our lives for the past twenty-five years,” says Race Director Terry Curley. And while he doesn’t regret it for a minute, he does admit that it was a huge time commitment for he and his entire family. They are looking forward to the free time the transition will create while still being key volunteers for the events. Co-race Director Carol Curley adds that one of the reasons they continued on as long as they have been is because of the outstanding group of community volunteers. “We have the best volunteers here in Pictou County and we always had the best of the best helping us with the Johnny Miles events”. The Curleys also acknowledged the loyal group of local sponsors, many of whom have supported the event since its inception back in 1975. The Johnny Miles Marathon started as a one-day event in 1975 under the direction of Dr. John Miles Williston and George Manos. It has now grown into a series of events that take place throughout the year, continuously promoting community health and fitness for all ages. While there will likely be some changes in efficiencies and streamlining as the events transition to a not- for -profit charitable organization, participants should expect that the general format, spirit and tradition for the main Johnny Miles events will stay the same. Curly adds, “Securing an organization like the YMCA of Pictou County allows us to step back from our lead roles with confidence knowing that leadership at the Y is ready and excited to take this on with the community’s health, fitness and well-being at the forefront of everything they do”.
