There is a Special Weather Statement issued for Pictou County by Environment Canada advising of significant rainfall of 25 to 40 mm from wednesday night through Thursday morning, and winds gusting to possibly greater than 80 km/h.
Nova Scotia reported 485 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. 317 of those cases are in Central Zone, 57 cases in Eastern Zone, 36 cases in Northern Zone and 75 cases in Western Zone. On Sunday, Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 9,198 tests. Nine people are in hospital, including two in ICU. Over the past three days, 28 schools were notified of an exposure(s) at their school. Premier Tim Houston and Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, will provide a COVID-19 update by videoconference this afternoon at 2 p.m.
Premier Tim Houston took part in a teleconference on Monday with the other Atlantic Premiers. The agenda was focused on limiting the spread of COVID-19.
The Premiers are urging all Atlantic Canadians to take action to slow the spread of COVID-19 during the holiday season by:
— following public health orders, guidelines and advice, including testing, masking and social distancing
— getting fully vaccinated
— limiting gatherings to a small and consistent circle of family and friends.
Provincial health ministers and senior public health officials also took part in the meeting.
The Province is launching a recruitment campaign to increase workers in healthcare and the skilled trades to support labour market needs. Nova Scotia is creating a team of navigators to connect healthcare professionals and tradespeople with the information they need to support their move here. The Province will return provincial taxes on the first $50,000 of income for workers aged 30 years and under in designated trades.
Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources and Renewables is investing 57 million dollars to expand energy efficiency programs for homes and businesses across the province. The majority of the funding, 50 million dollars, will be focused on residential energy efficiency programs to address energy poverty and equity. The remaining 7 million dollars is for energy efficiency programming for businesses. The department says it will work with partner organizations to finalize program details and provide more information in the new year.
