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P.E.I. to impose 2-week ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown to control coronavirus outbreak – Global News

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Three of Atlantic Canada’s four provinces reported progress Sunday in their bids to limit the spread of COVID-19, but health officials in P.E.I. instituted a two-week “circuit breaker” to quell a small but growing outbreak first reported just one day earlier.

P.E.I.’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Heather Morrison, announced new health protocols that will take effect on Monday and remain in place until Dec. 21, including a plea for all Islanders to avoid social gatherings and remain at home.

“If we do not … take a hard approach dealing with this situation head-on, it will take us much longer to recover and we will have more devastating impacts,” Morrison told a news conference in Charlottetown.

“As a province, we have learned from the experience of other jurisdictions that, in some cases, they wish they had acted earlier to address the spread of COVID-19.”

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Read more:
What is a coronavirus ‘circuit-breaker?’ A pivot in strategy with pros and cons

Morrison banned in-restaurant dining, closed all fitness facilities, bingo halls and libraries, limited organized gatherings to no more than 10 people and moved four high schools to online learning. Retail stores must also limit capacity to 50 per cent.

Morrison also asked all Islanders between the ages of 20 and 29 to get tested for COVID-19, even if they have no symptoms.

Premier Dennis King described the new measures as a “circuit breaker.”

“The last eight days have been quite a roller coaster on Prince Edward Island,” he said Sunday. “More concerning than the number of cases at this time is that tracing the source has been a challenge.”






5:27
Coronavirus: PEI’s top doctor details what suspending Atlantic bubble participation means


Coronavirus: PEI’s top doctor details what suspending Atlantic bubble participation means – Nov 24, 2020

The new measures were introduced as the province confirmed four new cases of COVID-19, all of them women linked to three other women whose cases were reported on Saturday.

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The first three women all work in fast-food restaurants in Charlottetown, health officials said.

The Island is now dealing with 11 active cases, which are among the 80 diagnoses reported since the pandemic was declared in March. Health officials have said 10 of those cases were reported in the last week alone.

By contrast, health officials in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were thanking residents for adhering to health protocols, saying their efforts were behind lower infection rates.

New Brunswick’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Jennifer Russel, announced Sunday that restrictions imposed to control recent outbreaks in the Moncton and Fredericton areas would be lifted on Monday.

Read more:
Atlantic provinces report uptick in COVID-19, including new cluster in P.E.I.

She said a declining COVID-19 caseload and adherence to health protocols prompted the change, which means the two areas will be returned to what the province describes as its less restrictive Yellow Level.

“Yellow means caution,” Russell said. “It is not an invitation to go full speed ahead into life as it was before COVID-19.”

Russel reminded New Brunswick residents that the situation remains grim in many other provinces.

“Pandemic field hospitals are being set up in Alberta,” she said. “… Ontario has seen daily increases in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. There are hospitals in B.C. where the physicians have not had a day off since August. The premier of Manitoba has pleaded with citizens to avoid holiday gatherings.”

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Russel also announced that tougher restrictions at the Orange Level would remain in place in the Saint John area because the number of active cases there was too high.

Four new COVID-19 cases were reported Sunday in New Brunswick, three of them people over the age of 60 and one under 20. The province had 82 active cases.






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Halifax area prepares for tougher COVID-19 restrictions after spike


Halifax area prepares for tougher COVID-19 restrictions after spike – Nov 25, 2020

Health officials in Nova Scotia reported five new cases Sunday, all of them in the province’s central region. One case involves an elementary student in Dartmouth, whose school will be closed until Dec. 10.

The province was dealing with 89 active cases as of Sunday, though no one was recovering in hospital.

Premier Stephen McNeil issued a statement saying he was pleased to see the number of new cases dropping on the weekend, with only six new cases reported on Saturday.

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“It reflects Nova Scotians’ commitment to following public health measures and doing their part to help slow the spread of COVID-19,” he said.

On Friday, the province extended tighter health restrictions in the Halifax region and Hants County until Dec. 16. Those restrictions, which stop just short of a full lockdown, were introduced Nov. 24 when health officials reported 37 new cases _ 35 in the Halifax area.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, health officials reported four new cases of COVID-19, three of them men who recently returned to the province from Alberta. The fourth case involves a man who was a close contact of a previous case.

The province now has 30 active cases of COVID-19.

© 2020 The Canadian Press

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Telus prioritizing ‘most important customers,’ avoiding ‘unprofitable’ offers: CFO

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Telus Corp. says it is avoiding offering “unprofitable” discounts as fierce competition in the Canadian telecommunications sector shows no sign of slowing down.

The company said Friday it had fewer net new customers during its third quarter compared with the same time last year, as it copes with increasingly “aggressive marketing and promotional pricing” that is prompting more customers to switch providers.

Telus said it added 347,000 net new customers, down around 14.5 per cent compared with last year. The figure includes 130,000 mobile phone subscribers and 34,000 internet customers, down 30,000 and 3,000, respectively, year-over-year.

The company reported its mobile phone churn rate — a metric measuring subscribers who cancelled their services — was 1.09 per cent in the third quarter, up from 1.03 per cent in the third quarter of 2023. That included a postpaid mobile phone churn rate of 0.90 per cent in its latest quarter.

Telus said its focus is on customer retention through its “industry-leading service and network quality, along with successful promotions and bundled offerings.”

“The customers we have are the most important customers we can get,” said chief financial officer Doug French in an interview.

“We’ve, again, just continued to focus on what matters most to our customers, from a product and customer service perspective, while not loading unprofitable customers.”

Meanwhile, Telus reported its net income attributable to common shares more than doubled during its third quarter.

The telecommunications company said it earned $280 million, up 105.9 per cent from the same three-month period in 2023. Earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 was 19 cents compared with nine cents a year earlier.

It reported adjusted net income was $413 million, up 10.7 per cent year-over-year from $373 million in the same quarter last year. Operating revenue and other income for the quarter was $5.1 billion, up 1.8 per cent from the previous year.

Mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.85 in the third quarter, a decrease of $2.09 or 3.4 per cent from a year ago. Telus said the drop was attributable to customers signing up for base rate plans with lower prices, along with a decline in overage and roaming revenues.

It said customers are increasingly adopting unlimited data and Canada-U.S. plans which provide higher and more stable ARPU on a monthly basis.

“In a tough operating environment and relative to peers, we view Q3 results that were in line to slightly better than forecast as the best of the bunch,” said RBC analyst Drew McReynolds in a note.

Scotiabank analyst Maher Yaghi added that “the telecom industry in Canada remains very challenging for all players, however, Telus has been able to face these pressures” and still deliver growth.

The Big 3 telecom providers — which also include Rogers Communications Inc. and BCE Inc. — have frequently stressed that the market has grown more competitive in recent years, especially after the closing of Quebecor Inc.’s purchase of Freedom Mobile in April 2023.

Hailed as a fourth national carrier, Quebecor has invested in enhancements to Freedom’s network while offering more affordable plans as part of a set of commitments it was mandated by Ottawa to agree to.

The cost of telephone services in September was down eight per cent compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent inflation report last month.

“I think competition has been and continues to be, I’d say, quite intense in Canada, and we’ve obviously had to just manage our business the way we see fit,” said French.

Asked how long that environment could last, he said that’s out of Telus’ hands.

“What I can control, though, is how we go to market and how we lead with our products,” he said.

“I think the conditions within the market will have to adjust accordingly over time. We’ve continued to focus on digitization, continued to bring our cost structure down to compete, irrespective of the price and the current market conditions.”

Still, Canada’s telecom regulator continues to warn providers about customers facing more charges on their cellphone and internet bills.

On Tuesday, CRTC vice-president of consumer, analytics and strategy Scott Hutton called on providers to ensure they clearly inform their customers of charges such as early cancellation fees.

That followed statements from the regulator in recent weeks cautioning against rising international roaming fees and “surprise” price increases being found on their bills.

Hutton said the CRTC plans to launch public consultations in the coming weeks that will focus “on ensuring that information is clear and consistent, making it easier to compare offers and switch services or providers.”

“The CRTC is concerned with recent trends, which suggest that Canadians may not be benefiting from the full protections of our codes,” he said.

“We will continue to monitor developments and will take further action if our codes are not being followed.”

French said any initiative to boost transparency is a step in the right direction.

“I can’t say we are perfect across the board, but what I can say is we are absolutely taking it under consideration and trying to be the best at communicating with our customers,” he said.

“I think everyone looking in the mirror would say there’s room for improvement.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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TC Energy cuts cost estimate for Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico

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CALGARY – TC Energy Corp. has lowered the estimated cost of its Southeast Gateway pipeline project in Mexico.

It says it now expects the project to cost between US$3.9 billion and US$4.1 billion compared with its original estimate of US$4.5 billion.

The change came as the company reported a third-quarter profit attributable to common shareholders of C$1.46 billion or $1.40 per share compared with a loss of C$197 million or 19 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

Revenue for the quarter ended Sept. 30 totalled C$4.08 billion, up from C$3.94 billion in the third quarter of 2023.

TC Energy says its comparable earnings for its latest quarter amounted to C$1.03 per share compared with C$1.00 per share a year earlier.

The average analyst estimate had been for a profit of 95 cents per share, according to LSEG Data & Analytics.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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BCE reports Q3 loss on asset impairment charge, cuts revenue guidance

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BCE Inc. reported a loss in its latest quarter as it recorded $2.11 billion in asset impairment charges, mainly related to Bell Media’s TV and radio properties.

The company says its net loss attributable to common shareholders amounted to $1.24 billion or $1.36 per share for the quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with a profit of $640 million or 70 cents per share a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, BCE says it earned 75 cents per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of 81 cents per share in the same quarter last year.

“Bell’s results for the third quarter demonstrate that we are disciplined in our pursuit of profitable growth in an intensely competitive environment,” BCE chief executive Mirko Bibic said in a statement.

“Our focus this quarter, and throughout 2024, has been to attract higher-margin subscribers and reduce costs to help offset short-term revenue impacts from sustained competitive pricing pressures, slow economic growth and a media advertising market that is in transition.”

Operating revenue for the quarter totalled $5.97 billion, down from $6.08 billion in its third quarter of 2023.

BCE also said it now expects its revenue for 2024 to fall about 1.5 per cent compared with earlier guidance for an increase of zero to four per cent.

The company says the change comes as it faces lower-than-anticipated wireless product revenue and sustained pressure on wireless prices.

BCE added 33,111 net postpaid mobile phone subscribers, down 76.8 per cent from the same period last year, which was the company’s second-best performance on the metric since 2010.

It says the drop was driven by higher customer churn — a measure of subscribers who cancelled their service — amid greater competitive activity and promotional offer intensity. BCE’s monthly churn rate for the category was 1.28 per cent, up from 1.1 per cent during its previous third quarter.

The company also saw 11.6 per cent fewer gross subscriber activations “due to more targeted promotional offers and mobile device discounting compared to last year.”

Bell’s wireless mobile phone average revenue per user was $58.26, down 3.4 per cent from $60.28 in the third quarter of the prior year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

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