Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout has moved into long-term care.
Residents of Northwood’s Halifax and Bedford campuses received Moderna shots on Monday.
Ann Hicks, 77, laughed as people gathered at the Halifax campus broke into applause after she was the first to receive a shot.
“This is the start of our career,” Hicks joked to Northwood nurse Amanda Parsons in a media pool video distributed by Communications Nova Scotia. Other media were not allowed into the event as a public health precaution.
The move into nursing homes follows the immunizaiton of frontline health-care workers who work in COVID-19 settings.
In the coming days residents of Shannex’s Parkstone facility in Halifax and the Ocean View Continuing Care Centre in Eastern Passage will be immunized.
The viral disease killed 53 Northwood residents in the spring.
“My daughter has been watching all the vaccine and everything on TV and telling me everything there is about it,” Hicks said in the video. “And it’s great, I’m just happy.”
Josie Ryan, executive director of long-term-care at Northwood, expects to have most residents vaccinated by week’s end.
“We’re hoping that we’ll be able to do at least 100 to 150 per day,” she said.
Audrey Wiseman, another Northwood Halifax resident who got her shot Monday, said her family was happy she did.
“Because I have been very ill and I’d come so far and they were so pleased that I was getting the vaccine for this.”
Designated caregivers included
Holly Crooks, whose mother Yvonne Schwartz, 90, is a Northwood Halifax resident, welcomed the expansion of the vaccine campaign into long-term care.
Crooks and her sister Jan Marriott are designated caregivers for their mother, which means they can visit in person and provide personal care under strict pandemic guidelines. As such, they have been given priority for the COVID-19 vaccine.
Marriott, who is a retired nurse and educator, got her shot in the first immunizations for health-care workers three weeks ago and received her second shot on Friday.
Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines that have been approved in Canada require a two-shot regimen.
Even though the province again allows two designated caregivers per resident, Crooks has yet to get her vaccine.
“There was a period of time where they were only briefly permitting one designated caregiver only and as she lived five minutes away, she eventually decided she could be the one, she could go in more frequently,” said Crooks, who’s part of an advocacy group called Reunite Families of Long-Term-Care Residents, which lobbies against visitation barriers in long-term-care.
“The names get forwarded to the NSHA (Nova Scotia Health Authority) and they contact the individuals with their appointment times. I’ve yet to receive contact from NSHA although I know my name has been forwarded. . . . We’re grateful to be part of the care team and really grateful to be included (for immunization) because that’s an indication that not only the facility but the province intends to continue with this program even in the event of another outbreak.”
By the end of this week, Nova Scotia will have received 23,000 doses of vaccine in the rollout that began in mid-December, chief medial officer of health Dr. Robert Strang said at a news briefing Friday. Under the two-shot regimen, that’s enough to immunize 11,500 Nova Scotians.
“Our vaccine rollout takes another important step today with the first clinic at a long-term care facility – Northwood’s Halifax campus – and one at the Cape Breton Regional Hospital,” said Premier Stephen McNeil in a news release Monday. “Our health-care professionals are working hard to distribute the vaccine as quickly as possible. We can support them by being patient and continuing to follow all the public health measures that help us contain the virus.”
Northwood staff nurse Amanda Parsons prepares doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine for long-term care residents at Northwood’s Halifax campus on Monday, Jan. 11, 2021. – Communications Nova Scotia
Acadia student infected
On Sunday evening, Acadia University announced that a student who lives on campus had tested positive for COVID-19.
“The student has not experienced symptoms, and we are grateful to them for following health advice for testing and quarantine. Nova Scotia Public Health is monitoring the situation. When an individual is diagnosed with COVID-19, Nova Scotia Public Health determines who they may have had close contact with and provides guidance to those individuals. Contact tracing is vital to help limit the spread of COVID-19. The University will provide help to the individual, and we wish them good health. We also want to reassure them that their privacy will be respected.”
The advisory said Acadia is already following intensive cleaning measures on campus but the positive case may require additional disinfection and access to buildings may be temporarily restricted.
The Acadia infection in the western health zone was one of five new cases reported Monday in Nova Scotia.
Two other cases are in the central zone and are related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada. One is a student at Dalhousie University in Halifax who lives off campus.
And there are two cases in the northern zone, one related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada. The person is self-isolating, as required. The other case is a close contact of a previously reported case.
With more resolved infections reported, the number of active cases has decreased by two to 26.
“Yesterday we reported no new cases of COVID-19, which is good news, but it is not an indication that COVID-19 is no longer a risk,” Strang said in the news release. “It is up to all of us to follow the public health measures to make sure we limit the spread of the virus.”
Nova Scotia Health Authority’s labs completed 2,193 Nova Scotia tests on Sunday.
Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 129,173 tests. There have been 444 positive COVID-19 cases and no deaths. No one is in hospital. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 70. Four hundred and eighteen cases are now resolved.
Potential exposures in Truro
Anyone who worked or visited the following locations on the specified dates and times should immediately visit covid-self-assessment.novascotia.ca/ to book a COVID-19 test, regardless of whether or not they have COVID-19 symptoms. You can also call 811 if you don’t have online access or if you have other symptoms that concern you.
If you have symptoms of COVID-19 you are required to self-isolate while you wait for your test result. If you do not have any symptoms of COVID-19 you do not need to self-isolate while you wait for your test result:
Foodland (Bible Hill, 241 Pictou Rd, Truro) on Jan. 2 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Watch forsymptoms up to, and including, Jan. 16.
Sobeys (Fundy Trail Mall, 68 Robie St, Truro) on Jan. 4 between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Watch forsymptoms up to, and including, Jan. 18.
The health authority reminds people not to visit a COVID-19 assessment centre without being directed to do so. Please book an appointment online anddo not go to a pop-up rapid testing location.
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.
