HALIFAX —
Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting one new case of COVID-19 on Wednesday.
The case is in the province’s Central zone and is related to travel.
Six previously reported cases are now considered resolved, with the total number of active infections dropping to 39.
Public Health says it is closely monitoring all four health zones for community spread.
Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia’s chief medical officer of health, confirmed during a news conference Wednesday afternoon that there is no longer community spread in the Halifax area.
When asked if Nova Scotia was ready to move to the next phase of reopening, Strang said it all depends on how quickly Nova Scotians get their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“Other places in Canada and elsewhere are beginning to lift restrictions and we need to watch them carefully,” Strang said. “The U.K. just announced its plan to fully reopen in about a week, but when you read the U.K. announcements they acknowledge that they are taking on significant risks, they are expecting significantly more cases and hospitalizations. A delta variant accounts for most of the cases in the U.K. and they do not have high enough to dose coverage in their population by their own acknowledgement.”
Strang also pointed to the United States, which he said, is providing an “instructive example” of the dangers of reopening too quickly without adequate vaccination coverage while cases of the Delta variant are on the rise.
“There is a clear link now between lower COVID vaccination rates and more COVID deaths by state,” Strang said. “As Mississippi state health officer says it is the unvaccinated people who are being diagnosed, who are going to hospital, and who were dying, and that’s not a risk we are prepared to take in Nova Scotia. Our people, our health care system and our economy have been through enough. So we’ll continue our cautious approach to reopening while we increase our vaccine coverage.”
CASE DATA
Nova Scotia labs processed 3,891 tests on Tuesday.
There have been 5,864 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia. Of those, 5,731 people have recovered, and 92 have died due to COVID-19.
Public Health says there is one person in hospital, and they are in an intensive care unit.
There are cases confirmed across the province, but most have been identified in the Central zone, which contains the Halifax Regional Municipality.
The numbers reflect where a person lives and not where their sample was collected.
Western zone: 290 cases (no active cases)
Central zone: 4,652 cases (25 active cases)
Northern zone: 301 cases (no active cases)
Eastern zone: 619 cases (14 active cases)
The provincial state of emergency, which was first declared on March 22, 2020, has been extended to July 11, 2021.
SECOND DOSES MOVED UP FOR SOME
More Nova Scotians are now able to move up the date for their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Anyone who recieved their first dose on or before July 6 is now able to reschedule their second dose appointment to an earlier date.
Emails to schedule a second dose appointment will be emailed out in the coming days, according to public health.
Health officials also said on Wednesday that anyone who receives their first COVID-19 dose beginning July 7 will automatically receive an email to schedule their second dose afterward.
Second dose rescheduling notices are sent to the email address provided at the time of booking the first dose.
Anyone who did not provide an email or does not receive a notice can call the toll-free line at 1-833-797-7772 to schedule or to request an email address be added and the notice issued.
SECOND DOSE WALK-INS OPEN FOR 55 AND OLDER IN HALIFAX
Nova Scotia announced Wednesday that anyone 55 and older can now receive a second dose of COVID-19 vaccine at the Halifax Convention Centre Clinic without an appointment.
Public health says there are 400 doses of the Moderna vaccine available for walk-ins at the Halifax Convention Centre Vaccine Clinic Wednesday. First dose vaccines are available for those 18 and older and second dose is available for those 55 and older.
VACCINE UPDATE
The province’s COVID-19 online dashboard provides an update on the number of vaccines that have been administered to date.
As of Wednesday,1,011,039 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered, with approximately 73.2 per cent of the province’s overall population having received at least one dose. Of those, 299,585 Nova Scotians have received their second dose.
The province says it has received a total of 1,256,250 doses of COVID-19 vaccine since Dec. 15.
All Nova Scotians are encouraged to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as they are eligible. COVID-19 vaccination appointments can be made online or by phone at 1-833-797-7772.
Testing is open to anyone and can be convenient for out-of-province visitors arriving in Nova Scotia, public health said in a release.
A list of locations offering walk-in PCR COVID-19 testing in addition to testing by appointment can be found on the health authority’s website. Rapid tests will not be offered at these locations.
Testing is available for all ages, for those who have symptoms, no symptoms (asymptomatic), have travelled or been to a potential exposure site and have been a close contact with a positive COVID case.
Public health is strongly encouraging Nova Scotians to seek asymptomatic COVID-19 testing, particularly if they have had several social interactions, even with their own social circle.
COVID-19 tests can be booked through the province’s online self-assessment COVID-19 tool, or by calling 811.
People can also visit one of Nova Scotia’s rapid pop-up testing sites that continue to operate throughout the province.
Here is a list of testing sites that were open on Wednesday:
Royal Canadian Legion Branch 95 (1772 Bedford Hwy., Bedford) from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Halifax Convention Centre (1650 Argyle St, Halifax) from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Alderney Gate, main entrance (60 Alderney Drive, Dartmouth) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Mobile pop-up unit (296 Pleasant St., Dartmouth) from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
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:
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.
