HALIFAX Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting five new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Three previously reported cases are now considered recovered, as the number of active cases in the province increases to 26. Three of Tuesday s new cases were identified in the province s Central zone, and two were identified in the Western zone. All five cases are close contacts of previously reported cases and are self-isolating. “It may seem like a bit of a roller-coaster right now – no cases yesterday and then five new cases today. But this is nature of the beast, said Nova Scotia premier Iain Rankin during Tuesday s news update. What I see however, are more and more Nova Scotians getting vaccinated. Our program is proceeding on a good schedule. What I also see are low case numbers because of the actions and behaviours of Nova Scotians.”
HALIFAX On a day when Nova Scotians over 80 years old are getting the COVID-19 vaccine, others are still waiting to get their appointments. 98-year-old Mildred Carmichael got her shot at the IWK clinic Monday afternoon. We really feel like it was divine intervention. Someone was looking after us to have this happen today, Sandra Barry said, Carmichael s daughter. Barry and her brother spent more than four hours last Monday to register their mother for an appointment. It took fewer than 30 minutes for her to be dropped off, taken to the clinic and back to the car. I feel A-1, Carmichael said afterward. Just listen to your caregivers and go.
HALIFAX A report into Nova Scotia s privately operated ambulance service says a significant amount of ambulance time is exhausted by unproductive non-emergency activities. The report by Fitch and Associates released Monday says ambulances spend a considerable amount of time waiting in hospitals to offload patients into busy emergency departments. The U.S.-based consulting firm also notes ambulances are often tied up responding to requests to transfer patients between facilities, a task it says could be handled by other transport options. Resources that could be dedicated to emergency responses are unnecessarily deployed to the (inter-facility transport) system to meet the contract demands, the report said. This is inefficient and ineffective.
HALIFAX The very first International Women s Day was marked back in 1911, with rallies attended by more than one million people around the world. Today, 109 years later, the COVID-19 pandemic means there have been no large gatherings to mark the occasion. Women have still raised their voices in a conversation around, not only the progress that has been made over the past century, but also around the work that still needs to be done. For entrepreneur Cathy Akinkunmi, this International Women s Day is more special than ever, because she is celebrating it just two months after launching her latest business, giving it extra meaning.