Roundup: COVID hospitalization update, Halifax developer buys Bridgewater wharf, New Glasgow prospect joins wrestling series, Syrian family reunites in Cape Breton
Illustration: Kat Frick Miller
Plus: EungSub Lee serves up joy at the Brewery Farmers’ Market
COVID-19 has killed another Nova Scotian, according to the latest government update. The woman, who was in her 60s and from the Western Zone, is the 117th Nova Scotian the disease has killed.
“This is another painful reminder that just because it’s a mild illness for you doesn’t mean it can’t cause severe illness or the death of someone in your circles,” Premier Tim Houston says in a press release. “Each of us has a responsibility to protect our loved ones and our communities by following the public health rules.”
Health officials estimate there are 6,867 active cases of COVID in the province, announcing 837 “lab-confirmed” new cases yesterday.
Those numbers likely don’t reflect COVID’s true extent, though. Premier Tim Houston’s government stopped widespread testing, saying that the pervasiveness of the omicron strain requires focusing on vulnerable areas like hospitals. That means many cases in the general population are now going unreported.
There are 60 people in hospital (including five in ICU) who were admitted for the disease and getting specialized care in a COVID-19 designated unit, with 12 new admissions and seven discharges reported yesterday.
The government says there are also 40 people who were identified as positive upon arrival in hospital but were admitted for another medical reason or people who were admitted for COVID-19 and no longer require specialized care, plus 94 people infected after hospitalization.
Serving up joy
In South Korean, EungSub Lee worked in the game design industry, an unhappy rat race of gruelling deadlines. Seeking to transform his life, he immigrated to Halifax, and found his calling.
Today he runs Gama by Lee at the Brewery Farmers’ Market, sharing Korean-fusion cuisine with Haligonians. Opening people to a new world of flavours gives him a joy he rarely found in his corporate cubicle.
“That is why I love the Brewery Market: I can see the smile from the customers and hear the happiness from their face and from their voices,” he says. “That’s one of the reasons I decided to become a business owner.”
Learn more in Kat Frick Miller’s new Unravel Halifax illustrated feature.
Halifax developer buys South Shore wharf
United Gulf Developments, the firm behind the Voyageur Lakes and Glen Arbour housing projects in Hammonds Plains and the Skye Halifax towers project in downtown Halifax, recently bought Bridgewater’s old government wharf.
Public property records show the five hectares of east side property fronting the LaHave River sold for $750,000, and was listed for $1.2 million.
Bridgewater Mayor David Mitchell doesn’t know what the developer has planned, but is optimistic.
“This is very, very exciting news for everyone in the community, especially if it’s a developer that has a history of developing,” he says.
Keith Corcoran reports for LighthouseNow.
Local prospect joins wrestling series
New Glasgow professional wrestler Charlie Hubley is among 16 Maritimers featured in the new TV series Real Wrestling on Bell Fibe TV 1.
He graduated in 2018 from Lance Storm’s Storm Wrestling Academy in Calgary. Since his debut, he’s built a reputation as a standout wrestler both in-ring and through his one-of-a-kind promo style that highlights the eccentricity of his character.
“I began watching it on TV when I was younger,” he says. “It takes in anything. It can be funny and athletic, and it’s based on so much intensity and physicality.”
Steve Goodwin has more for the Pictou Advocate.
Syrian family reunites in Cape Breton
After years separated in refugee camps, fleeing the violence of the Syrian civil war, the Al Awad family is reuniting in Port Hawkesbury.
The newcomers include include Maysaa Al Award, her husband Issa and their five children: Chirine, Darine, Mohammad, Douaa, and Yasmine. They join Maysaa’s brother and his family, who also recently settled in the town.
“They were flourishing in Syria,” says Claire MacNeil, chair of the Syrian Family Reunification Project. “The fathers worked, and they brought home the money, they lived in a lovely house. All of a sudden, in 2012 … they had to run, a lot of them had to go in the middle of the night. Their place was bombed. They were only able to take very little, except a bag with them, if that. This family actually took a taxi over to Lebanon, and were put in a camp in Lebanon. They basically had nothing.”
Jake Boudrot has the story for the Reporter.
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