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You are here: Home / Featured / (Updated) Latest COVID-19 restrictions: no gatherings of 50 people; take-out food only; bars to close: hospitals reduce services

(Updated) Latest COVID-19 restrictions: no gatherings of 50 people; take-out food only; bars to close: hospitals reduce services

March 17, 2020 By Tim Bousquet Leave a Comment

There are two new presumptive cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia, bringing the total to seven.

One of the two newest cases is travel-related, said Dr. Robert Strang, the province’s chief medical officer. The other case is “related to” one of the previous Covid-19 cases, said Strang. Strang would not say where the people live in the province, but said they are self-isolating at home and are doing well.

Meanwhile, Premier Stephen McNeil has announced the following restricitons:

• effectively immediately, no public gatherings of 50 people or more;

• as of Thursday, restaurants can only offer take-out food, and all bars will be closed;

• as of tomorrow, NSLC is reducing operating hours to 11am-7pm six days a week (closed Sundays), and 10-11am for seniors and others at highest risk of contracting Covid-19

• Service Nova Scotia is closing all Access Centres for one week, “in order to establish a new way to provide services that avoids contact”; on-line service remain, and drivers licences and vehicle registrations that expire in March, April, and May will have the expiration extended to the end of August:

• hospitals are cancelling all non-urgent procedures. Specifically, according to a Nova Scotia Health Authority handout provided to reporters, this means:

— all elective outpatient visists are cancelled. Individual services will contact patients whose appoints are proceeding. Dialysis, chemotherapy and radiation treatments, and mental health and addictions appointments will continue

— all non-urgent diagnostic imaging appointments will be rescheduled and walk-in x-ray services will be closed. Cancer Care imagining, PET scans and other time-sensitive exams will continue

— Outpatient blood collection services will not close completely but services will be reduced (i.e. reduction in hours and humber of locations. Details regarding these changes will be communicated as soon as they are available.

— all same-day admission and elective surgical procedures are postponed. Cancer and urgent/emergency procedures will continue.

— As currently-occupied inpatient beds become available, they will be held open to create capacity to establish COVID-19 units in designated hospitals

New Brunswick and Newfoundland hospitals have prohibited all visitors, but as of today, Nova Scotia hospital limit of two visitors per patient. I asked Dr. Bernard Carr, the CEO of the NSHA, if that might change, and he made no commitment, saying only that it could change.

Yesterday, Ontario banned all evictions. Today, I asked McNeil if he would prohibit evictions or implement rent controls (McNeil has the power to take either or both actions under the Emergency Measures Act). McNeil replied that he has been “working with our national partner” and “later in the week we will lay out a suite of public policy positions that will respond to the very real needs of [Canadians].”

Filed Under: Featured

About Tim Bousquet

Tim Bousquet is the editor and publisher of the Halifax Examiner. email: [email protected]; Twitter

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The Tideline, with Tara Thorne

Phyllis Rising — Rebecca Falvey (left) and Meg Hubley. Photo submitted

Episode #19 of The Tideline, with Tara Thorne is published.

Meg Hubley and Rebecca Falvey met as theatre kids at Neptune and have been friends ever since. As Phyllis Rising — that’s right, Mary Tyler Moore hive — they’re making films, plays, and are in production on The Crevice, a three-part sitcom streaming live from the Bus Stop in March. They stop by to talk with Tara about its development, their shared love of classic SNL and 90s sitcoms, and the power of close friendship. Plus: A new song from a new band.

This episode is available today only for premium subscribers; to become a premium subscriber, click here, and join the select group of arts and entertainment supporters for just $5/month. Everyone else will have to wait until tomorrow to listen to it.

Please subscribe to The Tideline.

Uncover: Dead Wrong

In 1995, Brenda Way was brutally murdered behind a Dartmouth apartment building. In 1999, Glen Assoun was found guilty of the murder. He served 17 years in prison, but steadfastly maintained his innocence. In 2019, Glen Assoun was fully exonerated.

Halifax Examiner founder and investigative journalist Tim Bousquet has followed the story of Glen Assoun's wrongful conviction for over five years. Now, Bousquet tells that story as host of Season 7 of the CBC podcast series Uncover: Dead Wrong.

Click here to go to listen to the podcast, or search for CBC Uncover on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or any other podcast aggregator.

About the Halifax Examiner

Examiner folk The Halifax Examiner was founded by investigative reporter Tim Bousquet, and now includes a growing collection of writers, contributors, and staff. Left to right: Joan Baxter, Stephen Kimber, Linda Pannozzo, Erica Butler, Jennifer Henderson, Iris the Amazing, Tim Bousquet, Evelyn C. White, El Jones, Philip Moscovitch More about the Examiner.

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