Media Scan Wednesday April 21, 2021
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Media Scan Wednesday April 21, 2021 N.S. limits travel in and out of province to essential trips only Nova Scotia is placing new restrictions on who can travel to the province, announcing that come Thursday at 8 a.m. AT, people will not be allowed to enter unless their trip is deemed essential or they are permanent residents of the province. Premier Iain Rankin made the announcement during a press briefing early Tuesday afternoon. Only those travelling from P.E.I. or Newfoundland and Labrador, where COVID-19 case counts are low, are exempt from the new rules. Nova Scotia residents are also being told not to leave the province unless it is necessary. Atlantic Bubble to be delayed again The Atlantic Bubble lost a little bit of air Tuesday when the Atlantic premiers decided a little more time is needed to allow for more control of recent COVID-19 cases and the further rollout of vaccinations. The Atlantic Bubble — that would have seen travel restrictions reduced among the four Atlantic provinces — was set to come into effect on May 3. Premier Andrew Furey said Tuesday he spoke with Premier Blaine Higgs of New Brunswick, Premier Iain Rankin of Nova Scotia and Premier Dennis King of Prince Edward Island earlier that day and it was agreed to move the date further into May. “I had a conversation with the premiers and it certainly looks like we are going to have to delay it even further,” Furey said. “We hadn’t talked about a specific date but all in agreement that May 3 may seem too optimistic at this point in time.” Staff up now, or stay lean and wait? Hospitality sector faces dilemma amid third wave When Stephane Prevost planned to open a second restaurant in Banff this winter, he at least thought he'd have a busy summer to look forward to. While businesses in town were hammered by the first lockdown in 2020, they eventually benefited from a relatively busy summer season when COVID-19 cases dropped and domestic tourism skyrocketed. But the chef and managing partner of Block Kitchen and Bar and the newer Shoku Izakaya said the third lockdown comes at a particularly difficult time when he'd usually be preparing to ramp up his staffing. Atlantic Canada's pandemic success positively raises our profile CMA is pleading for health workers in provinces with low infection rates to be shared with provinces where infection rates are high such as Ontario. Those requests were not received warmly by Atlantic Canada’s premiers for an obvious reason. It would be political suicide for any incumbent government considering going to the polls in the next 12 months like Nova Scotia to seriously entertain such a request. Many times, during media interviews Atlantic Canada’s low COVID-19 incidence rate is referenced as an example of how the pandemic should have been handled from the start. In fact, Atlantic Canada’s success in keeping COVID-19 infections low is getting considerable media traction around the world. Nova Scotia reports nine new COVID-19 cases Tuesday; two cases confirmed as variants Health officials in Nova Scotia are reporting nine new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Four previously reported cases are now considered recovered, as the active number of cases increases to 68. Six of Tuesday's new cases were reported in the province's Central zone. Five are close contacts of previously reported cases and the other case is under investigation. One new case was reported in the Eastern zone and are related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada. Canada-U.S. border restrictions extended as U.S. congressman pushes for reopening plan he Canada-U.S. border will remain closed to non-essential travel until at least May 21. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair tweeted the extension this morning. "We will continue to base our decisions on the best public health advice available to keep Canadians safe from COVID-19," he said. The Canada-U.S. border agreement, which has been in place since March of last year, bars entry to most travellers who are not Canadian citizens, permanent residents or people entering from the U.S. for "essential" reasons. Most people who enter the country are required to self- isolate for 14 days after their arrival. Cavendish Beach, Deep Roots music fests cancel summer and fall events Two Maritime communities will not be hosting their major music events for the second year in a row due to COVID-19 and the uncertainty over the future of travel and gatherings. On Tuesday, both the Cavendish Beach Music Festival in Prince Edward Island and the Annapolis Valley’s Deep Roots Music Festival announced they will not be going ahead as planned this summer and fall. However, the two events also have plans in place to present live music on a smaller scale over the summer. Organizers for the P.E.I. celebration of top country, pop and rock acts cited the status of border closures and ongoing travel restrictions between provinces as a key factor in the cancellation of this year’s event, which had been scheduled for July 9 to 11. Ottawa police announce end of 24-7 presence at Ontario-Quebec border Less than two days after the Ontario government’s latest COVID-19 restrictions came into effect, alling for non-essential traffic to be stopped at the province’s borders with Quebec and Manitoba, the Ottawa Police Service has announced it is stopping its 24-hour checkpoints. According to a statement issued by the service Tuesday evening, the around-the-clock border checkpoints were set to end as of 8 p.m. on Tuesday in favour of rotating checkpoints across the city throughout the day until Ontario’s temporary regulations end. Golfers demand Ontario reverse closures Ontario golfers are swinging mad about being included in the province's enhanced shutdown order and petitions are calling for the premier to backtrack on golf course closures, as he did on playgrounds and some police powers. Martin Patterson, general manager at Emerald Links, Anderson Links and Cloverdale Links, said right up until the lockdown order, all three courses were open and had full-time sheets. All had to be cancelled. "I can't repeat everything I heard," said Patterson. "People were upset." Patterson says his golf courses are safe. They've removed the ball washers, took the rakes out of the sand traps, spread out the tee times, limited carts to one person and payments online or via a debit machine. New restrictions on retail capacity limits now in effect across Manitoba New restrictions on retail capacity limits are now in effect across Manitoba. On Monday, Premier Brian Pallister and Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer, announced a new set of public health guidelines in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 and variants of concern. At a Monday news conference, Pallister said that COVID-19 is once again on the rise in Manitoba, due in large part to variants of concern. Periodic roadblocks but no individual stops planned for B.C.'s COVID-19 travel rules The British Columbia government is looking at using periodic roadblocks to limit travel in a bid to slow the spread of COVID-19.Mike Farnworth, minister of public safety and the solicitor general, aid the checks would be set up at locations like ferry terminals or along major highways leading out of Metro Vancouver. The goal is to discourage recreational travel, but there will be no random, individual stops, Farnworth said in a statement Tuesday. 50 businesses temporarily closed due to COVID-19 in B.C.'s Lower Mainland Dozens of businesses in B.C.'s Lower Mainland have been forced to temporarily close their doors in recent weeks due to "likely transmission" of COVID-19 in the workplace. The vast majority of those closures have taken place since April 12, when the province allowed WorkSafeBC prevention officers to begin serving businesses with shutdown orders after three or more employees test positive for the disease. The closures last for at least 10 days, but some workplaces can avoid being shuttered if it's determined to be "in the overriding public interest" to keep them open, according to health officials. .