HALIFAX —
Nova Scotia has extended the pandemic restrictions in areas of the Halifax Regional Municipality and Hants County for at least one more week.
Dr. Robert Strang noted that Nova Scotia is still reporting daily cases in the double digits, including another 15 on Friday.
“Modelling projects that this will continue for several more days,” Strang said during a news conference in Halifax on Friday. “So we need more time with the existing restrictions in place to see these numbers come down and to be certain they will stay down.”
The restrictions will remain in place until at least Dec. 16.
A decision on whether to continue with restrictions that saw Atlantic Canada’s largest city close down in-person dining at restaurants as well as close public libraries, museums, gyms and casinos, was to be made next Wednesday. Strang said that’s now been moved to Dec. 16.
He said he couldn’t make any promises about what the situation will look like then.
“What I can tell you is that the more we buckle down and stay tight right now . . . the better position we will be in to have some slight relaxation as we enter the holiday weeks before January starts.”
MORE TESTING FOR PEOPLE WITHOUT SYMPTOMS
The province also launched a period of asymptomatic testing across the province to limit the potential spread of the virus by detecting positive cases in people who do not have symptoms.
“For the past week, we have had double-digit case numbers daily and most of them are in the areas where we added restrictions last week. These restrictions are important to help us slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil. “We have also ramped up testing significantly as a key measure in containing the virus. Adding more opportunities for asymptomatic testing is another way of enhancing our testing strategy.”
McNeil said that in the last two weeks, public health has conducted more than 7,000 rapid tests and these have helped flag 22 potential cases of COVID-19 from people who had no symptoms.
“Without everyone’s hard work to run these clinics, and without all of you coming forward to be tested, we would not be able to track COVID as quickly,” McNeil said.
15 NEW CASES REPORTED
Health officials in Nova Scotia reported 15 new COVID-19 cases on Friday. With 17 more cases resolved, the number of active cases has dropped to 117.
Eleven of the new cases are located in Nova Scotia’s Central Zone. This includes a case connected to Halifax’s Citadel High School, which was first reported late Thursday.
Three cases are in the Northern Zone and are close contacts of previously reported cases.
The other case is in the Western Zone and is related to travel outside Atlantic Canada.
CASE AT PARK WEST SCHOOL
Nova Scotia Health says a positive case has also been identified at Park West School, a primary to Grade 9 school in Halifax.
The person did not attend school on Friday and is self-isolating.
The school will remain closed to students until Dec. 10 so a deep cleaning can take place. Students will study from home in the meantime.
Nova Scotia health says, as a precautionary measure, the school’s offsite pre-primary location will also be closed until Dec. 10. Students and families can expect an update on Wednesday.
Public health will notify any close contacts of the person who tested positive. Everyone who is a close contact will be notified, tested and required to self-isolate for 14 days.
NEW TESTING FOR ROTATIONAL WORKERS
Strang said the province has added voluntary testing for rotational workers who are not showing symptoms.
Rotational workers can book an appointment through the COVID-19 self-assessment on Day 6, 7, or 8 of their modified self-isolation.
“This will not change any of the restrictions, but it does offer a level of reassurance if they don’t have COVID, and if they do, it will help us contain the virus quicker,” said Strang.
NOVA SCOTIA COVID-19 TESTS
The Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 1,623 Nova Scotia tests on Thursday.
Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has conducted 73,254 tests. There have been 269 positive COVID-19 cases. Of those, 152 cases are considered resolved, leaving 117 active cases.
There have been no deaths during the second wave and no one is in hospital. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 70.
Since the start of the pandemic, Nova Scotia has conducted a total of 196,425 tests, with 1,358 positive cases confirmed overall. Of those, 1,176 cases are considered resolved and 65 people have died.
The province’s overall confirmed cases range in age from under 10 to over 90.
Fifty seven per cent of cases are female and 43 per cent are male.
There are cases confirmed across the province, but most have been identified in the Central Zone, which contains the Halifax Regional Municipality.
The provincial government says cumulative cases by zone may change as data is updated in Panorama, the province’s electronic information system.
The numbers reflect where a person lives and not where their sample was collected.
Western Zone: 63 cases
Central Zone: 1,154 cases
Northern Zone: 86 cases
Eastern Zone: 55 cases
The provincial state of emergency, which was first declared on March 22, has been extended to Dec. 13.
COVID ALERT APP
Canada’s COVID-19 Alert app is available in Nova Scotia.
The app, which can be downloaded through the Apple App Store or Google Play, notifies users if they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.
LIST OF SYMPTOMS
Anyone who experiences a fever or new or worsening cough, or two or more of the following new or worsening symptoms, is encouraged to take an online test or call 811 to determine if they need to be tested for COVID-19:
HALIFAX – Ottawa is negotiating a $500-million bailout for Nova Scotia’s privately owned electric utility, saying the money will be used to prevent a big spike in electricity rates.
Federal Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson made the announcement today in Halifax, saying Nova Scotia Power Inc. needs the money to cover higher costs resulting from the delayed delivery of electricity from the Muskrat Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador.
Wilkinson says that without the money, the subsidiary of Emera Inc. would have had to increase rates by 19 per cent over “the short term.”
Nova Scotia Power CEO Peter Gregg says the deal, once approved by the province’s energy regulator, will keep rate increases limited “to be around the rate of inflation,” as costs are spread over a number of years.
The utility helped pay for construction of an underwater transmission link between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, but the Muskrat Falls project has not been consistent in delivering electricity over the past five years.
Those delays forced Nova Scotia Power to spend more on generating its own electricity.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
TORONTO – Roots Corp. may have built its brand on all things comfy and cosy, but its CEO says activewear is now “really becoming a core part” of the brand.
The category, which at Roots spans leggings, tracksuits, sports bras and bike shorts, has seen such sustained double-digit growth that Meghan Roach plans to make it a key part of the business’ future.
“It’s an area … you will see us continue to expand upon,” she told analysts on a Friday call.
The Toronto-based retailer’s push into activewear has taken shape over many years and included several turns as the official designer and supplier of Team Canada’s Olympic uniform.
But consumers have had plenty of choice when it comes to workout gear and other apparel suited to their sporting needs. On top of the slew of athletic brands like Nike and Adidas, shoppers have also gravitated toward Lululemon Athletica Inc., Alo and Vuori, ramping up competition in the activewear category.
Roach feels Roots’ toehold in the category stems from the fit, feel and following its merchandise has cultivated.
“Our product really resonates with (shoppers) because you can wear it through multiple different use cases and occasions,” she said.
“We’ve been seeing customers come back again and again for some of these core products in our activewear collection.”
Her remarks came the same day as Roots revealed it lost $5.2 million in its latest quarter compared with a loss of $5.3 million in the same quarter last year.
The company said the second-quarter loss amounted to 13 cents per diluted share for the quarter ended Aug. 3, the same as a year earlier.
In presenting the results, Roach reminded analysts that the first half of the year is usually “seasonally small,” representing just 30 per cent of the company’s annual sales.
Sales for the second quarter totalled $47.7 million, down from $49.4 million in the same quarter last year.
The move lower came as direct-to-consumer sales amounted to $36.4 million, down from $37.1 million a year earlier, as comparable sales edged down 0.2 per cent.
The numbers reflect the fact that Roots continued to grapple with inventory challenges in the company’s Cooper fleece line that first cropped up in its previous quarter.
Roots recently began to use artificial intelligence to assist with daily inventory replenishments and said more tools helping with allocation will go live in the next quarter.
Beyond that time period, the company intends to keep exploring AI and renovate more of its stores.
It will also re-evaluate its design ranks.
Roots announced Friday that chief product officer Karuna Scheinfeld has stepped down.
Rather than fill the role, the company plans to hire senior level design talent with international experience in the outdoor and activewear sectors who will take on tasks previously done by the chief product officer.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, are set to resume today as a strike that has stopped most services drags into a second week.
No timeline has been set for the length of the negotiations, but Joe McCann, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they are willing to stay there as long as it takes, even if talks drag on all night.
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people unable to navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last Tuesday, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
Hundreds of drivers rallied outside TransLink’s head office earlier this week, calling for the transportation provider to intervene in the dispute with Transdev, which was contracted to oversee HandyDART service.
Transdev said earlier this week that it will provide a reply to the union’s latest proposal on Thursday.
A statement from the company said it “strongly believes” that their employees deserve fair wages, and that a fair contract “must balance the needs of their employees, clients and taxpayers.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
