This week, Halifax Transit buses have been operating at less-than-optimal intervals. Between 20 and 40 routes have had at least one cancelled trip on any given day, some routes more than once. The reason? Transit operators are sick with COVID-19 and isolating due to possible exposure. “I have four positive bus operators right now,” says […]
Victoria Walton
Victoria was a full-time reporter with The Coast from April 2020 until mid-2022, when the CBC lured her away. During her Coast tenure, she covering everything from COVID-19 to small business to politics and social justice. Originally from the Annapolis Valley, she graduated from the University of King’s College School of Journalism in 2017.
Posted inNews + Opinion
A tighter lockdown and 227 new cases arrive May 7
Today Nova Scotia announced 227 new cases of COVID-19, a grim provincial record that spawned two more, as the caseload rose for the record 21st straight day to a record 1,464 active cases. Five more people entered the hospital since yesterday, for a total of 50 patients, and one person—a woman in her 70s in […]
Posted inFood + Drink
Let’s taco ‘bout Mexican food
The options are plentiful: tacos, burritos, empanadas, chillaquiles. Mexican food can make everyone feel at home, no matter where they are in the world. The spices, flavours and presentation can bring much-needed colour to our lives during this third-wave lockdown, so grab your Corona (the beer, not the virus), order some tacos or a quesadilla, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
What we (don’t) know about Nova Scotia’s two recent COVID deaths
On Tuesday May 4, Nova Scotia reported two new deaths related to COVID-19 in the province. The first is a man in his 70s, the second a woman in her 50s, bringing the total number of deaths in the province to 69. “This is a difficult briefing today,” said premier Iain Rankin when he announced […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Premier to party people: “What is wrong with you?”
In Halifax over the weekend, 37 tickets were issued to people breaking COVID-19 restrictions. “There are people who are still not listening,” premier Iain Rankin said on Monday, at a COVID press conference with public health doc Robert Strang. And while these could have been given out at the anti-COVID protest on Citadel Hill, or […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Rankin’s small business rebates fall short of long-term help
It’s been over a week since Nova Scotian businesses were forced into a third-wave lockdown. For some non-essential retail stores, it’s their first time fully closed. But for businesses like salons, spas and restaurants, a COVID-19 shutdown is old hat. “This is the second time we’ve been mandated to close, the first time was at […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Nova Scotia has 45,000 backlogged COVID-19 tests
This week, Nova Scotians turned out for COVID-19 tests in record numbers. So much so, in fact, they’ve overwhelmed the testing system. “Thousands and thousands of Nova Scotians have done what we have asked—get tested,” said chief medical officer of health doctor Robert Strang at the C19 briefing on Friday, April 30. As a result, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Where to get a rapid COVID-19 test this weekend (May 1-2)
Note: This article is old. For more current info, read our latest ‘Where to Get Tested’ article. On Friday, the Nova Scotia government paused booked PCR tests for most Nova Scotians. This weekend, the only tests available (unless you’re a close contact or possible exposure) are rapid or pop-up tests. To get a rapid test […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
How 40-to-54-year-olds can book an AstraZeneca vaccine appointment
On Friday, April 30, Nova Scotia opened up the AstraZeneca vaccine for 40-to-54-year-olds. Public health head Robert Strang warned yesterday that the new age cohort would not open at the stroke of midnight; just before 9am, it was live. The province's vaccine booking site is now updated to offer AZ vaccine appointments for people who […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
It’s irresponsible to refuse a vaccine (yes, even AstraZeneca)
Since vaccines first began rolling out in Nova Scotia, public health officials have been telling residents to get a vaccine as soon as they can, once one becomes available. “Ultimately it’s an individual choice, but I would say: if you get an opportunity to get a vaccine, take it,” said doctor Robert Strang during a […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Women scramble to find childcare in lockdown—again
Last week, schools around HRM began shutting down for cleaning after COVID-19 exposures. “We didn’t have to get tested, we were not told that there was a case in the school, but it was a case in the community,” says Ronit Milo, whose eight-year-old son’s Dartmouth school shut down Thursday. As the days went on, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The new COVID restrictions: What’s considered essential in Nova Scotia
On Tuesday, with 96 new cases bringing the province to a total of 419 active COVID-19 infections, Nova Scotia locked down. Not only does the rest of the province join Halifax, which went into lockdown Friday, but the restrictions are getting tighter. “We are in a race between the variant and the vaccine,” said doctor […]
