Nova Scotia will build 264 new long-term care beds and replace nearly 1,300 existing beds across the province, premier Iain Rankin announced Friday. Nova Scotia NDP and PC leaders say this plan falls short of what’s needed to support the public long-term care program—which has nearly 1,300 people waiting for a bed. In a […]
Northwood
Posted inNews + Opinion
Tracking all of Nova Scotia’s COVID deaths
There have been 71 COVID-19 deaths in the province since the virus first reared its ugly head here. The province has released only sparse details on the ages and locations of each person who died—while at the same time telling the public they’re not just statistics, but people with lives, families and stories. What can […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Premier faces renewed calls for Northwood inquiry
Yesterday morning, The Coast published Stephanie Nolen’s months-long investigation into last year’s deadly COVID-19 outbreak at Northwood long-term care home. Four hours later, the story was at the centre of an exchange at the provincial legislature between official opposition leader Tim Houson, NDP leader Gary Burrill and premier Iain Rankin about the government’s response to […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
What happened at Northwood?
A year ago this Saturday, April 17, three residents of Northwood, the long-term care centre in the heart of Halifax, died of COVID-19. Fifty more would die in the course of the next six, frantic weeks. While COVID raged inside the facility, the north end complex was sealed off from the surrounding community. The virus […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Remembering Northwood’s COVID-19 dead
In the 44 days between April 17 and May 30, 2020, there were 53 residents of the Northwood long-term care residence who died of COVID-19. They were announced each day as a statistic at the premier’s COVID briefing. Their names, and their stories, were kept anonymous. The death toll became a data point that gave […]
Posted inBest of Halifax
We love that Halifax came together in grief
Grief and ritual normally go hand in hand. Ever since humans began living and dying, people have been moved by the need to fully acknowledge death and move through it—often with the help of their community. And though on the surface COVID-19’s greatest crime is death, its greatest punishment falls on those left behind. […]