Researchers analyzing COVID-19 data from across Canada have rated Nova Scotia the highest in the country in its hazard index for the week of Aug. 5.
In the previous index for the week of July 29, COVID-19 Resources Canada rated Nova Scotia very high on its hazard index. The rest of the country was rated either high or elevated.
The latest rating drops Nova Scotia to high on the hazard index but the province still has the highest score in Canada.
The group gets funding from the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness said it was unable to comment on the index as “we do not know the data sources or methodology used to analyze the data.”
“In the first Omicron wave and even to some extent in the second Omicron wave, Nova Scotia had fewer per capita cases than a lot of the rest of Canada,” said Tara Moriarty, an infectious disease expert at the University of Toronto and the co-founder of COVID-19 Resources Canada.
“Nova Scotia kind of hung on and did better for longer during the first and part of the second Omicron waves than many other provinces.
“A second part of the issue is there were more people to be infected for the first time in Nova Scotia than in the rest of the country and I think that’s partly why Nova Scotia is doing consistently worse this time around.”
To come up with the hazard index, Moriarty said her group looks at infection rates, vaccine protection, impacts to the health-care system and deaths.
COVID-19 Resources Canada’s hazard index for July 29, 2022 showed Nova Scotia rating the highest in the country. The group of researchers post updates every Saturday on its website. (COVID-19 Resources Canada)
Over the last few weeks, Moriarty said infection rates are high in Nova Scotia. She said COVID-19 is appearing in wastewater, reported hospitalizations the Canadian Critical Care Society collects, deaths, intensive care admissions and vaccination rates.
“All of the indicators, especially for the estimated actual infections and wastewater, have been high in Nova Scotia for quite a while, which is partly why Nova Scotia is kind of stuck at this very high level,” Moriarty said.
COVID-19 Resources Canada updates its hazard index once a week. Moriarty said while smaller populations tend to have more volatile results, in larger populations there isn’t as much up and down.
“We don’t see it with Nova Scotia or Saskatchewan … most of the provinces that are north of 700,000 people, the trends are a lot more stable,” Moriarty said.
“P.E.I. is a small place for example and if you have one big event in Charlottetown that drives a lot of transmission you can see a really big effect but it might not spread out to the rest of the province.”
Moriarty said Nova Scotia was consistent with its index score for the last two weeks. COVID-19 Resources Canada said if the score decreases, “it’s pretty reasonable to assume that it’s going to continue improving for a while and it won’t bounce too much.”
Impacts on health-care system
Halifax Atlantic MLA Brendan Maguire said he wasn’t surprised to see Nova Scotia ranked highest on the index. He said health-care professionals and front-line workers have been sounding the alarm for a while.
“We’re seeing an impact on our surgeries, we’re seeing an impact in the emergency rooms so we’ve brought this up in the legislature that COVID is here, it’s bad and there’s just no recognition,” Maguire said. “It shows what we’re saying is true and hopefully it’s an eye-opener for the government.”
Maguire said there needs to be more COVID-19 data collected and shared by the province to help people make decisions.
“At the very least what they could be doing is encouraging people to take a little more precaution when they’re out in public,” he said.
Nova Scotia’s Department of Health and Wellness encouraged Nova Scotians to get their data from the provincial and federal governments.
“Nova Scotians are reminded that the virus continues to have an impact in our province. They should continue to take steps to minimize their risk of exposure and that of those around them by wearing a mask when in public spaces, staying home when they don’t feel well, and getting vaccinated when they are eligible,” a spokesperson for Health and Wellness said in an email.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
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, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
