Nova Scotia’s progress towards $10-a-day childcare by 2026 is ahead of schedule, with prime minister Justin Trudeau and premier Tim Houston announcing today that daycare fees will drop by 25 percent this month and by 50 percent by the end of the year. In a virtual announcement the premier and PM, joined by federal and […]
Lyndsay Armstrong
Lyndsay was a city reporter covering all things Halifax, health and COVID-19. She is a data journalist who has covered provincial politics for allNovaScotia.com and represented Nova Scotia in a national investigation into lead in drinking water with the Toronto Star and Global.
Posted inNews + Opinion
Hospitals cutting back on surgeries and other services amid COVID pressures
Nova Scotia’s hospitals are reducing their capacity for surgeries, procedures and ambulatory care clinics due to continued pressure from COVID-19. Last week about 120 surgeries and 30 procedures were postponed, according to Nova Scotia Health, and effective today “services have been further reduced, with only urgent and emergent surgeries, including time sensitive cancer surgeries, continuing […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
New high for Nova Scotia’s family doctor waitlist
Nova Scotia’s ever-growing registry of residents seeking a family doctor hit 82,000 people in December, up one percent from the month before. More than eight percent of the million people living in Nova Scotia have signed up for the primary care registry in hopes of being paired with a family doctor or nurse practitioner. In […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
In-person school delayed a week, isolation requirements shortened
In-person schooling in Nova Scotia has been delayed another week, with kids studying online until Jan 17. Premier Tim Houston said the decision weighs heavily on him, as any disruption to in-person class harms children. “They’re the safest at school, it’s sad but it’s true. The reality for many children in the province, particularly as […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
No new restrictions, 1020 new COVID-19 cases
The province “won’t hesitate” to implement new public health restrictions, premier Tim Houston said at Monday’s COVID briefing, but for the time being, nothing will change. While case numbers remain high—1,020 new cases of COVID-19 reported January 3 and another 1,893 new cases reported over the New Year’s weekend—chief medical officer of health Robert Strang […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
A big shift in Nova Scotia’s COVID-19 strategy
Doctor Robert Strang laid out significant changes in Nova Scotia’s COVID management plant during today’s COVID briefing. This shift comes with scaled back contact tracing, reduced testing and plans to end daily case number reporting. “Omicron is forcing us to do things differently, it’s a different variant that requires a different response,” Strang said during […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
522 new cases of COVID-19 in NS bring new restrictions and a scaled-back testing plan
With 522 new cases reported Tuesday, Nova Scotia is further tightening public health restrictions, just days after the last round of restrictions came into effect. Gathering limits will drop from 20 to 10, restaurants and bars must stop dine-in service at 11pm, and live events, sports and performances are paused. “I’m not going to get […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nearly 400 new cases of COVID-19 in NS
“The pandemic continues to make a mess of things across the province,” premier Tim Houston said Friday, following 394 new cases of COVID-19 being reported. Seven people are in hospital, with two in ICU. Thursday there were nearly 300 new cases, with another almost 400 new cases today, marking the highest two-day case total Nova Scotia […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
287 new cases of COVID-19 in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is reporting 287 new cases of COVID-19 today, the highest number of cases reported in one day. This follows six back-to-back days of more than 100 newly identified cases. It’s not, however, the most cases identified in one day. That was May 7, 2021, in the thick of the third wave, when there […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Omicron arrives and COVID restrictions return following four triple-digit case days
Following four days of triple-digit COVID-19 case numbers—and the first 40 confirmed omicron variant cases—Nova Scotia is bringing back some public health restrictions. Welcome to just another pandemic Monday. “Nobody ever wants to go backwards, so it sucks to be going backwards right now, especially at this time of year,” premier Tim Houston said during […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
X-Ring outbreak reaches 114 cases of COVID-19
During a rare Friday afternoon COVID-19 briefing, Nova Scotia top doc Robert Strang said the outbreak at St. Francis Xavier University—now totalling 114 cases—is “quite likely” linked to new cases in the Central zone. The chief medical officer says this is for two reasons: some of the cases that have been investigated are people who […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The X-Ring marks the spot as COVID outbreak at St. FX hits 59 cases
The COVID outbreak connected to St. Francis Xavier University is under investigation, and more new cases are expected in the coming days. As of today, 59 cases have already been tied to the outbreak. “That’s a significant number in my mind,” premier Tim Houston said Thursday after a cabinet meeting. Of the 52 new COVID […]