Nova Scotia reported nine new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, including one case at a Bedford school for children in pre-primary to Grade 4.
The student from Bedford South School is self-isolating, the Health Department said in a news release. Everyone in a class that a confirmed case attended will be tested and is required to self-isolate for 14 days.
The school was closed Friday for cleaning and contact tracing, and is expected to remain closed until at least Dec. 2.
All cases identified Friday are in the Central Zone. There are now 119 active cases of COVID-19 in the province.
One of the new cases announced Friday is a student at Bedford South School. (Patrick Callaghan/CBC)
Nova Scotia labs completed 3,109 Nova Scotia tests on Thursday.
Rapid-testing pop-ups
An additional 1,142 tests were completed at the rapid-testing pop-up site Thursday in downtown Halifax, finding four positive results. Those people were told to self-isolate and have been referred for a standard test.
The provincial state of emergency has also been renewed. The order will take effect Sunday and extend to noon on Sunday, Dec. 13, unless government terminates or extends it.
If you have no symptoms, but recently attended a party with more than 10 people in someone’s home, went to a restaurant or bar that is open past 10 p.m., we are asking you to visit a rapid test popup site.
Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang, reminded people Friday that rapid testing is an important part of the province’s testing strategy, but it does not replace the need for a standard lab test.
Including standard lab tests and rapid tests, the province has conducted more than 13,000 tests in the last six days.
Premier Stephen McNeil said a vast majority of those tests were young people in the 18-35 age group, the demographic representing the most COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia’s second wave.
“I want you to know how grateful I am,” he said Friday. “By showing up and stepping up, you’re protecting everyone around you and your community and that’s the best example of leadership. I want to sincerely thank you.”
1,058 ongoing investigations
When a person tests positive in the lab, Public Health employees investigate each close contact of that confirmed COVID case. There are 1,058 ongoing investigations in the province.
A week ago, that number was 276.
Strang said each positive case has an average of seven close contacts, but many cases have had considerably more than that.
Because of the work involved to complete contact tracing, it takes time for close contacts of positive cases to be contacted by Public Health.
A Nova Scotia health worker prepares to administer a nasal swab at a rapid-testing site in Halifax on Tuesday. Another testing site will be set up in Dartmouth on Friday. (Robert Short/CBC)
“I ask for people’s support and patience during this. Public Health will get to you,” Strang said. “While you’re waiting, if you believe you’re a close contact, just stay isolated at home. We need your help on this.”
Strang said he’s “relieved” to see relatively low case numbers in the last few days, but expects to continue to see high numbers of new daily cases in the next week to 10 days.
“We’re just Day 2 into implementing our tight restrictions in the Halifax area. We’re by no means out of the woods yet,” he said.
Even when people follow the rules, the COVID-19 virus can be easily spread through social activities because many people are not symptomatic or have mild symptoms.
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Earlier this week, the Department of Health and Wellness asked anyone who was at a bar or restaurant in the Halifax area past 10 p.m. to arrange for testing. Strang said nearly 8,000 people have come forward for a test since then.
Staff or patrons of bars or restaurants who were there after 10 p.m. do not need to self-isolate while awaiting a test.
But if a person was at one of the more than 100 recent exposure sites on any of the listed dates and times, they need to self-isolate while awaiting a test. On Friday night, the Nova Scotia Health Authority issued eight new notices for the Halifax area.
Essential travel only
Although the province has not changed its self-isolation rules for travellers from other Atlantic provinces, Nova Scotians are still being urged to only travel for essential purposes, including accessing health care and attending work or school.
“I’m sorry to say, shopping is not an essential purpose,” McNeil said.
Strang added to buy local, and buy online, if shopping needs to be done to help contain the second wave of COVID, which began Oct. 1.
“Wave 2 is clearly here in Halifax, and we’re trying to keep it in Halifax,” he said.
Truro police said in a Facebook post Friday they’ve received numerous calls from the public asking police to take action against people they believe travelled from the Halifax area to their community in Colchester County.
“While we appreciate concerns about the spread of COVID-19, this travel restriction isn’t in Public Health orders and cannot be directly enforced by police,” the post said.
Strang said the province is going to increase capacity at the primary assessment centre in Wolfville and is planning to have pop-up rapid-testing sites in place in that community early next week.
Rapid testing in long-term care
As of Friday, ongoing voluntary testing is being introduced in long-term care homes. Volunteers, designated caregivers, and employees who provide direct care to residents will be tested every two weeks.
The testing will start at three locations: Northwood, Ocean View, and St. Vincent’s. It will expand to six more facilities over the next two weeks.
Northwood is one of three long-term care facilities that currently has rapid testing in place for volunteers, staff, and designated caregivers. (Robert Short/CBC)
“This is part of our effort to monitor, reduce, and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in long-term care facilities. None of us need a reminder of how important that is,” Strang said.
With the federal government saying Canadians could start getting vaccinated in early 2021, Strang said it’s important to remember none of the vaccines is licensed by Health Canada yet and there is no certainty on the availability or the amount of doses.
“I need to be clear, we are expecting very small amounts to begin with … We’ll have to tightly control the supply and [have] very strict prioritization of who that vaccine needs to go to,” he said.
Restaurants are closed for in-person dining for two weeks, but can do takeout and delivery. Gyms, libraries, museums and casinos are also closed.
A list of what’s open and closed in Halifax can be found here.
COVID cases in the Atlantic provinces
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island have all brought back mandatory 14-day self-isolation for travellers. As of Thursday evening, Nova Scotia is still not requiring anyone travelling from the Atlantic provinces to quarantine.
The latest numbers from the Atlantic provinces are:
Symptoms
Anyone with one of the following symptoms should visit the COVID-19 self-assessment website or call 811:
Fever.
Cough or worsening of a previous cough.
Anyone with two or more of the following symptoms is also asked to visit the website or call 811:
TOKYO (AP) — Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments.
Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period.
Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion).
SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications.
The results were also helped by the absence of losses related to SoftBank’s investment in office-space sharing venture WeWork, which hit the previous fiscal year.
WeWork, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2023, emerged from Chapter 11 in June.
SoftBank has benefitted in recent months from rising share prices in some investment, such as U.S.-based e-commerce company Coupang, Chinese mobility provider DiDi Global and Bytedance, the Chinese developer of TikTok.
SoftBank’s financial results tend to swing wildly, partly because of its sprawling investment portfolio that includes search engine Yahoo, Chinese retailer Alibaba, and artificial intelligence company Nvidia.
SoftBank makes investments in a variety of companies that it groups together in a series of Vision Funds.
The company’s founder, Masayoshi Son, is a pioneer in technology investment in Japan. SoftBank Group does not give earnings forecasts.
Shopify Inc. executives brushed off concerns that incoming U.S. President Donald Trump will be a major detriment to many of the company’s merchants.
“There’s nothing in what we’ve heard from Trump, nor would there have been anything from (Democratic candidate) Kamala (Harris), which we think impacts the overall state of new business formation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify’s chief financial officer Jeff Hoffmeister told analysts on a call Tuesday.
“We still feel really good about all the merchants out there, all the entrepreneurs that want to start new businesses and that’s obviously not going to change with the administration.”
Hoffmeister’s comments come a week after Trump, a Republican businessman, trounced Harris in an election that will soon return him to the Oval Office.
On the campaign trail, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60 per cent on imports from China and roughly 10 per cent to 20 per cent on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect makes good on the promise, many worry the cost of operating will soar for companies, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses but also brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret.
These merchants may feel they have no choice but to pass on the increases to customers, perhaps sparking more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs do come to fruition, Shopify’s president Harley Finkelstein pointed out China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we can’t anticipate what every presidential administration is going to do,” he cautioned.
He likened the uncertainty facing the business community to the COVID-19 pandemic where Shopify had to help companies migrate online.
“Our job is no matter what comes the way of our merchants, we provide them with tools and service and support for them to navigate it really well,” he said.
Finkelstein was questioned about the forthcoming U.S. leadership change on a call meant to delve into Shopify’s latest earnings, which sent shares soaring 27 per cent to $158.63 shortly after Tuesday’s market open.
The Ottawa-based company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, reported US$828 million in net income for its third quarter, up from US$718 million in the same quarter last year, as its revenue rose 26 per cent.
Revenue for the period ended Sept. 30 totalled US$2.16 billion, up from US$1.71 billion a year earlier.
Subscription solutions revenue reached US$610 million, up from US$486 million in the same quarter last year.
Merchant solutions revenue amounted to US$1.55 billion, up from US$1.23 billion.
Shopify’s net income excluding the impact of equity investments totalled US$344 million for the quarter, up from US$173 million in the same quarter last year.
Daniel Chan, a TD Cowen analyst, said the results show Shopify has a leadership position in the e-commerce world and “a continued ability to gain market share.”
In its outlook for its fourth quarter of 2024, the company said it expects revenue to grow at a mid-to-high-twenties percentage rate on a year-over-year basis.
“Q4 guidance suggests Shopify will finish the year strong, with better-than-expected revenue growth and operating margin,” Chan pointed out in a note to investors.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
TORONTO – RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust says it has cut almost 10 per cent of its staff as it deals with a slowdown in the condo market and overall pushes for greater efficiency.
The company says the cuts, which amount to around 60 employees based on its last annual filing, will mean about $9 million in restructuring charges and should translate to about $8 million in annualized cash savings.
The job cuts come as RioCan and others scale back condo development plans as the market softens, but chief executive Jonathan Gitlin says the reductions were from a companywide efficiency effort.
RioCan says it doesn’t plan to start any new construction of mixed-use properties this year and well into 2025 as it adjusts to the shifting market demand.
The company reported a net income of $96.9 million in the third quarter, up from a loss of $73.5 million last year, as it saw a $159 million boost from a favourable change in the fair value of investment properties.
RioCan reported what it says is a record-breaking 97.8 per cent occupancy rate in the quarter including retail committed occupancy of 98.6 per cent.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
