As the weather gets nicer, a number of municipalities in Metro Vancouver are re-opening playgrounds and parks that were closed because of COVID-19.
Vancouver
Starting Friday, the Vancouver Park Board will begin reopening more than 320 outdoor recreation amenities including skate parks, synthetic sports fields, basketball and volleyball courts, disc golf, roller hockey, multi-sport courts, and 166 playgrounds.
The park board says playgrounds will be open across the city by Monday, June 1, in alignment with the Vancouver School Board’s resumption of in-class learning.
In recent weeks, the park board has reopened Fraserview, McCleery and Langara golf courses, VanDusen Botanical Garden, as well as tennis and pickleball courts.
On Monday, 125 playgrounds throughout Surrey’s park system, and all playgrounds within the Surrey School district’s 101 elementary schools will be re-opened.
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The City of Surrey is also re-opening its skate parks.
New Westminster
In New Westminster, select playgrounds will start to reopen on Monday.
The first ones to reopen were identified based on their proximity to public washrooms where handwashing can take place both before and after using the playground.
The city says on Monday, June 1, playgrounds at Moody Park, Port Royal and Quayside Park will reopen, and playgrounds at Queen’s Park, Hume Park, Sapperton Park, Westminster Pier Park, and Grimston Park will reopen throughout the week. The remaining playgrounds will gradually reopen over the summer.
All spray parks will remain closed until further notice.
Maple Ridge
City staff in Maple Ridge are asking everyone to stay off the playgrounds until Monday to allow staff to complete safety checks of each site before reopening.
The city has opened its skate parks, disc golf, running tracks, tennis courts, pickleball courts, sports fields, bike skills and lacrosse boxes for informal and casual use. This means they are not accepting bookings for organized practices or games at this time.
Portable washrooms will also be placed in parks and permanent public washrooms are reopening with enhanced cleaning protocols.
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The city says the following facilities remain closed:
Port Coquitlam playgrounds, picnic shelters and outdoor fitness equipment in Gates Park and along the Traboulay PoCo Trail will reopen by the weekend.
Coquitlam
As of June 1, Coquitlam will reopen its playgrounds, sport courts (including basketball, lacrosse and volleyball) and outdoor fitness equipment.
“A collaborative reopening of these facilities makes sense so that we’re all sending the same message to our communities,” said Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart in a release. “In the same vein, we’re looking to our residents to cooperate by using these amenities safely and responsibly, and continuing to follow the direction of health officials.”
Port Moody
Port Moody will reopen its outdoor playgrounds, basketball and sport courts and the Westhill Park lacrosse box on June 1.
Anmore
Anmore has recently reopened their playground and tennis courts, as well as the parking lot adjacent to Spirit Park.
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School District #43
Playgrounds at all School District #43 schools will reopen June 1.
“As children return to school, it will be important for them to be able to play outside to stay healthy and active,” said School District Supt. Patricia Gartland in a release.
Spray parks remain closed across the Tri-Cities, while sports fields are open for informal use only by small groups.
On Monday, playgrounds and basketball hoops in the City of Delta will reopen. This includes playgrounds on Delta School District property and basketball hoops shortly after.
Surrey
All 125 playgrounds throughout the city’s park system and all playgrounds at the district’s 101 elementary schools will reopen Monday.
The City of Surrey is also reopening its skate parks. The following eight skate parks will be reopened for May 30 with physical distancing requirements and size limits for the number of users:
Bear Creek Park
Royal Kwantlen Park
Fraser Heights Park
Cloverdale Fairgrounds
South Surrey Athletic Park
Tom Binnie Park
Surrey Sport & Leisure Complex
Guildford Recreation Centre
Using playgrounds and outdoor facilities
Municipalities are asking everyone who wants to use the playgrounds and outdoor facilities to maintain two metres distance from others not in your household, to wash and sanitize your hands frequently, disinfect personal equipment before and after use, do not share equipment and to stay home if you are sick.
HALIFAX – The Nova Scotia government says it could be months before it reveals how many people are on the wait-list for a family doctor.
The head of the province’s health authority told reporters Wednesday that the government won’t release updated data until the 160,000 people who were on the wait-list in June are contacted to verify whether they still need primary care.
Karen Oldfield said Nova Scotia Health is working on validating the primary care wait-list data before posting new numbers, and that work may take a matter of months. The most recent public wait-list figures are from June 1, when 160,234 people, or about 16 per cent of the population, were on it.
“It’s going to take time to make 160,000 calls,” Oldfield said. “We are not talking weeks, we are talking months.”
The interim CEO and president of Nova Scotia Health said people on the list are being asked where they live, whether they still need a family doctor, and to give an update on their health.
A spokesperson with the province’s Health Department says the government and its health authority are “working hard” to turn the wait-list registry into a useful tool, adding that the data will be shared once it is validated.
Nova Scotia’s NDP are calling on Premier Tim Houston to immediately release statistics on how many people are looking for a family doctor. On Tuesday, the NDP introduced a bill that would require the health minister to make the number public every month.
“It is unacceptable for the list to be more than three months out of date,” NDP Leader Claudia Chender said Tuesday.
Chender said releasing this data regularly is vital so Nova Scotians can track the government’s progress on its main 2021 campaign promise: fixing health care.
The number of people in need of a family doctor has more than doubled between the 2021 summer election campaign and June 2024. Since September 2021 about 300 doctors have been added to the provincial health system, the Health Department said.
“We’ll know if Tim Houston is keeping his 2021 election promise to fix health care when Nova Scotians are attached to primary care,” Chender said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – Newfoundland and Labrador‘s chief medical officer is monitoring the rise of whooping cough infections across the province as cases of the highly contagious disease continue to grow across Canada.
Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says that so far this year, the province has recorded 230 confirmed cases of the vaccine-preventable respiratory tract infection, also known as pertussis.
Late last month, Quebec reported more than 11,000 cases during the same time period, while Ontario counted 470 cases, well above the five-year average of 98. In Quebec, the majority of patients are between the ages of 10 and 14.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick has declared a whooping cough outbreak across the province. A total of 141 cases were reported by last month, exceeding the five-year average of 34.
The disease can lead to severe complications among vulnerable populations including infants, who are at the highest risk of suffering from complications like pneumonia and seizures. Symptoms may start with a runny nose, mild fever and cough, then progress to severe coughing accompanied by a distinctive “whooping” sound during inhalation.
“The public, especially pregnant people and those in close contact with infants, are encouraged to be aware of symptoms related to pertussis and to ensure vaccinations are up to date,” Newfoundland and Labrador’s Health Department said in a statement.
Whooping cough can be treated with antibiotics, but vaccination is the most effective way to control the spread of the disease. As a result, the province has expanded immunization efforts this school year. While booster doses are already offered in Grade 9, the vaccine is now being offered to Grade 8 students as well.
Public health officials say whooping cough is a cyclical disease that increases every two to five or six years.
Meanwhile, New Brunswick’s acting chief medical officer of health expects the current case count to get worse before tapering off.
A rise in whooping cough cases has also been reported in the United States and elsewhere. The Pan American Health Organization issued an alert in July encouraging countries to ramp up their surveillance and vaccination coverage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 10, 2024.
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