Roundup: 8 more COVID deaths in N.S., Chender highlights Cape Breton health-care concerns, new South Shore care home planned, dump truck driver dies in crash
Claudia Chender. Photo: Bruce Murray
Plus: Pushed out — a Brazilian immigrant shares her experiences trying to build a new life in Nova Scotia
COVID-19 killed eight more Nova Scotians from Aug. 16 to 22, according to the latest information from the provincial government. During the same period, 34 people were hospitalized with the disease, and 50 people are currently in care receiving COVID treatment, including eight in ICU.
World Health Organization officials report 829,163 confirmed new COVID cases around the globe in the last 24 hours. So far, COVID is known to have killed at least 6,457,101 people, including 43,178 in Canada and 492 Nova Scotians.
Chender highlights health-care concerns
Many Nova Scotians are struggling to get timely medical care, and the problem is particularly pronounced on Cape Breton. New NDP leader Claudia Chender recently met with islanders to discuss their growing concerns.
“For so many people the twin challenges of health care and affordability are huge,” she says. “In health-care there are major access issues in Cape Breton that are somewhat unique … We heard about paramedics both being able to offload their patients and being able to respond in a timely way.”
Drake Lowthers interviews her for the Reporter.
“Not newcomer friendly”
When Brazilian Laura Campos (not her real name) and her husband were searching for a better life and a safer place to live, Canada seemed the best choice, so they immigrated in 2017, eventually settling in Halifax.
Despite their hopes, they’ve discovered a city with a shockingly high cost of living, but with fewer career prospects, even as employers claim there’s a labour shortage.
“The job market is not newcomer friendly,” Campos says. “The province says it needs more workers, but has serious problems concerning the necessary infrastructure to support the new immigrants. Also, the locals see immigrants as threats to their own job opportunities.”
She shares her experience with Marianne Simon in the latest issue of Unravel Halifax.
New South Shore care home site secured
Queens County municipal council recently approved the sale of a 4.5-hectare plot to be the site of a proposed new long-term care home. It’s a key step in the development of the 112-bed facility, says Christopher Clark, chair of the Queens Care Building Society.
“It’s huge because now we can move ahead,” he explains. “We really appreciate the fact that council listened to our request to make the decision quickly so we could get on with designing the facility. You can’t design anything until you have the land.”
Kevin McBain reports for LighthouseNow.
Man dead in dump truck crash
An 84-year-old Pictou County man is dead after the dump truck he was driving crashed into a ditch in Chance Harbour. RCMP say the driver was the only occupant of the vehicle. They haven’t released any information about the cause of death or the crash.
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