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N.L. reports 15 new COVID-19 cases as cluster in Labrador-Grenfell region emerges – CBC.ca
Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting 15 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, along with the emergence of a cluster in the Labrador-Grenfell Health region.
According to a news release issued just before 5:00 p.m. NT, there are eight new confirmed cases in the Eastern Health region, three in the Western Health region, one in the Central Health region and three in Labrador-Grenfell Health region.
Six of the cases in the Eastern Health region are related to either domestic or international travel. One case is a close contact of a previous case, while another is under investigation.
Two of the three cases in the Western Health region are close contacts of previous cases, while the third case is under investigation.
Two cases in the Labrador-Grenfell region are under investigation, along with a case in the Central Health region.
The third reported case in the Labrador-Grenfell region is a close contact of a previous case.
There are also seven presumptive positive cases in the Labrador-Grenfell region.
The new numbers bring the total active cases in the province to 33. 11 new recoveries have been reported since the last COVID-19 update.
One person is now in hospital due to COVID-19.
A total of 275,924 COVID-19 tests have been completed in the province, an increase of 2,094 Friday.
Public Health is also advising about a cluster of COVID-19 cases emerging in the Labrador-Grenfell Health region. The investigation involves a large number of contacts, according to the release.
Out of an abundance of caution, health officials are also recommending the delayed opening of three schools in the Roddickton area of Newfoundland to allow time for contact tracing. This includes Cloud River Academy in Roddickton, H.G. Fillier Academy in Englee and Mary Simms All Grade in Main Brook.
In a statement to CBC News Monday night, the Newfoundland and and Labrador English School District says it will follow public health’s recommendation to delay opening at the three schools, and that families and staff have been notified. The board says no other schools in the area are affected at this time.
Investigations into two previously known clusters in the Eastern and Western Health regions remain ongoing. There are five and seven cases connected to each cluster respectively.
Due to the increase in cases and contacts, COVID-19 testing will continue in the Roddickton-Bide Arm area at the White Bay Central Health Centre on Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
No appointment is necessary, and anyone experiencing even one symptom of COVID-19 should be tested, according to Public Health.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, along with Health Minister John Haggie and Premier Andrew Furey, will speak to the public during a COVID-19 briefing Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. NT.
Exposure notices
Public Health also issued several notices about potential COVID-19 exposure across the province. Anyone who visited the following locations on the listed dates and times should arrange for a COVID-19 test.
Eastern Health region:
- Tiny’s Bar and Grill, 1378 Topsail Road, Paradise on Aug. 30 from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m.
- Donovan’s Irving Big Stop, 65 Clyde Avenue, Mount Pearl on Sept. 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
- A&W, 1448 Topsail Road, Paradise on Sept. 3 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. This does not apply to people who only used the drive-thru.
Western Health Region:
- River’s End Motel, 2 North Shore Highway, Corner Brook on Aug. 20.
- Quality Inn, 64 Maple Valley Road, Corner Brook on Aug. 20 to Aug. 22.
- Pizza Delight, 24 Murphy Square, Corner Brook on Aug. 20 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m.
- Walmart, 16 Murphy Square, Corner Brook on Aug. 20 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., Aug. 21 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and Aug. 21 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
- Samuel & Company, 44 Maple Valley Road, Corner Brook Plaza on Aug. 20 from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m. and Aug. 21 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
- Reitmans, 44 Maple Valley Road, Corner Brook Plaza on Aug. 20 from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m.
- Bell Aliant, 44 Maple Valley Road, Corner Brook Plaza on Aug. 20 from 3:30 to 6:00 p.m
- Tim Hortons, 28 Murphy Square, Corner Brook on Aug. 21 from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. and Aug. 22 from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. This does not apply to people who only used the drive-thru.
- McDonald’s, 16 Confederation Drive, Corner Brook, on Aug. 21 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. This does not apply to people who only used the drive-thru.
- Winners, 35 Confederation Drive, Corner Brook on Aug. 21 from 2:00 to 3:30 p.m. and Aug. 31 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m.
- Canadian Tire Gas Bar, 4 Murphy Square, Corner Brook on Aug. 21 from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m.
- Canadian Tire, 4 Murphy Square, Corner Brook on Aug. 21 from 3:45 to 4:30 p.m.
- Kent Building Supplies, 37 Confederation Drive, Corner Brook on Aug. 21 from 4:30 to 5:15 p.m.
- Jiwen Garden, 82 West Street, Corner Brook on Aug. 21 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m
- Humber Nurseries Ltd., 137 West Valley Road, Corner Brook on Aug. 22 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
- Deer Lake Irving Big Stop, 62 Trans-Canada Highway on Aug. 22 from 3:00 to 3:15 p.m.
- Mary Brown’s, 60 Trans-Canada Highway, Deer Lake on Aug. 22 from 3:15 to 3:30 p.m
- Gros Morne Gas Bar, 1A-B Viking Trail, St Paul’s on Aug. 22 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
- Dollarama, 24 Commerce Street, Deer Lake on Aug. 31 from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m.
Read more from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador
Tesla has promised to start selling cheaper models next year, days after a Reuters report revealed that the company had shelved its plans for an all-new Tesla that would cost only $25,000.
The news that Tesla was scrapping the Model 2 came amid a drop in sales and profits, and a decision to slash a tenth of the company’s global workforce. Reuters also noted increased competition from Chinese EV makers.
Tesla’s deliveries slumped in the first quarter for the first annual drop since the start of the pandemic in 2020, missing analyst forecasts by a mile in a sign that even price cuts haven’t been able to stave off an increasingly heated competition on the EV market.
Profits dropped by 50%, disappointing investors and leading to a slump in the company’s share prices, which made any good news urgently needed. Tesla delivered: it said it would bring forward the date for the release of new, lower-cost models. These would be produced on its existing platform and rolled out in the second half of 2025, per the BBC.
Reuters cited the company as warning that this change of plans could “result in achieving less cost reduction than previously expected,” however. This suggests the price tag of the new models is unlikely to be as small as the $25,000 promised for the Model 2.
The decision is based on a substantially reduced risk appetite in Tesla’s management, likely affected by the recent financial results and the intensifying competition with Chinese EV makers. Shelving the Model 2 and opting instead for cars to be produced on existing manufacturing lines is the safer move in these “uncertain times”, per the company.
Tesla is also cutting prices, as many other EV makers are doing amid a palpable decline in sales in key markets such as Europe, where the phaseout of subsidies has hit demand for EVs seriously. The cut is of about $2,000 on all models that Tesla currently sells.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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Divisions within the Bank of Canada over the timing of a much-anticipated cut to its key overnight interest rate stem from concerns of some members of the central bank’s governing council that progress on taming inflation could stall in the face of stronger domestic demand — or even pick up again in the event of “new surprises.”
“Some members emphasized that, with the economy performing well, the risk had diminished that restrictive monetary policy would slow the economy more than necessary to return inflation to target,” according to a summary of deliberations for the April 10 rate decision that were published Wednesday. “They felt more reassurance was needed to reduce the risk that the downward progress on core inflation would stall, and to avoid jeopardizing the progress made thus far.”
Article content
Others argued that there were additional risks from keeping monetary policy too tight in light of progress already made to tame inflation, which had come down “significantly” across most goods and services.
Some pointed out that the distribution of inflation rates across components of the consumer price index had approached normal, despite outsized price increases and decreases in certain components.
“Coupled with indicators that the economy was in excess supply and with a base case projection showing the output gap starting to close only next year, they felt there was a risk of keeping monetary policy more restrictive than needed.”
In the end, though, the central bankers agreed to hold the rate at five per cent because inflation remained too high and there were still upside risks to the outlook, albeit “less acute” than in the past couple of years.
Despite the “diversity of views” about when conditions will warrant cutting the interest rate, central bank officials agreed that monetary policy easing would probably be gradual, given risks to the outlook and the slow path for returning inflation to target, according to the summary of deliberations.
Article content
They considered a number of potential risks to the outlook for economic growth and inflation, including housing and immigration, according to summary of deliberations.
The central bankers discussed the risk that housing market activity could accelerate and further boost shelter prices and acknowledged that easing monetary policy could increase the likelihood of this risk materializing. They concluded that their focus on measures such as CPI-trim, which strips out extreme movements in price changes, allowed them to effectively look through mortgage interest costs while capturing other shelter prices such as rent that are more reflective of supply and demand in housing.
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They also agreed to keep a close eye on immigration in the coming quarters due to uncertainty around recent announcements by the federal government.
“The projection incorporated continued strong population growth in the first half of 2024 followed by much softer growth, in line with the federal government’s target for reducing the share of non-permanent residents,” the summary said. “But details of how these plans will be implemented had not been announced. Governing council recognized that there was some uncertainty about future population growth and agreed it would be important to update the population forecast each quarter.”
• Email: bshecter@nationalpost.com
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Shares in US tech giant Meta have sunk in US after-hours trading despite better-than-expected earnings.
The Facebook and Instagram owner said expenses would be higher this year as it spends heavily on artificial intelligence (AI).
Its shares fell more than 15% after it said it expected to spend billions of dollars more than it had previously predicted in 2024.
Meta has been updating its ad-buying products with AI tools to boost earnings growth.
It has also been introducing more AI features on its social media platforms such as chat assistants.
The firm said it now expected to spend between $35bn and $40bn, (£28bn-32bn) in 2024, up from an earlier prediction of $30-$37bn.
Its shares fell despite it beating expectations on its earnings.
First quarter revenue rose 27% to $36.46bn, while analysts had expected earnings of $36.16bn.
Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said its spending plans were “aggressive”.
She said Meta’s “substantial investment” in AI has helped it get people to spend time on its platforms, so advertisers are willing to spend more money “in a time when digital advertising uncertainty remains rife”.
More than 50 countries are due to have elections this year, she said, “which hugely increases uncertainty” and can spook advertisers.
She added that Meta’s “fortunes are probably also being bolstered by TikTok’s uncertain future in the US”.
Meta’s rival has said it will fight an “unconstitutional” law that could result in TikTok being sold or banned in the US.
President Biden has signed into law a bill which gives the social media platform’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, nine months to sell off the app or it will be blocked in the US.
Ms Lund-Yates said that “looking further ahead, the biggest risk [for Meta] remains regulatory”.
Last year, Meta was fined €1.2bn (£1bn) by Ireland’s data authorities for mishandling people’s data when transferring it between Europe and the US.
And in February of this year, Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg faced blistering criticism from US lawmakers and was pushed to apologise to families of victims of child sexual exploitation.
Ms Lund-Yates added that the firm has “more than enough resources to throw at legal challenges, but that doesn’t rule out the risks of ups and downs in market sentiment”.
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