N.L. marks grim pandemic milestone as COVID-19 kills 50th person
CBC
Newfoundland and Labrador hit a grim pandemic milestone on Wednesday as the province reported its 49th and 50th deaths due to COVID-19.
Both of the people who died were women in their 80s, one in Eastern Health and one in Central Health, according to a news release from the Department of Health.
Twenty people in Newfoundland and Labrador are in hospital as a result of COVID-19, including seven in critical care.
The province is reporting 250 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. By region, there are 159 new cases in Eastern Health, 44 in Central Health, 28 in Western Health and 19 in Labrador-Grenfell Health.
With 155 new recoveries, the province's known active caseload rises to 1,579.
A total of 1,136 COVID-19 tests have been completed since Tuesday, with a positivity rate of 22 per cent. The province has completed 486,437 tests to date.
The Department of Health also detailed changes in visitor restrictions in long-term care homes.
Public Health implemented stringent visitor restrictions in long-term and personal care homes in December at the beginning of the Omicron wave. Residents were not allowed to leave their home, and were only allowed visitors under specific circumstances.
Beginning on Thursday, residents will once again be allowed to leave their care home for family outings and visitation. Residents will also be allowed two visitors at a time. The department said further information will be available on Thursday.
Bars, performance spaces, cinemas and bingo halls in Newfoundland and Labrador were permitted to reopen last Monday, and on Tuesday, Public health officials announced further loosening of restrictions governing sports, religious services and more.
After more than a month of tightened restrictions, the Newfoundland Rogues basketball team announced Wednesday it will end its season early, despite loosened arena capacity rules coming on Monday.
"A clear-eyed look at the requirements to get our team back up to speed show that we have just run out of time," said the team in a statement. "With an exceptional team and an unbeaten start, we believe we had an excellent shot at bringing a championship to the province."
American Basketball League CEO Joe Newman said the team had a shot at the final eight if it hadn't been stopped by COVID-19 and "the inability of US-based ABA teams to travel to Canada to play."
According to the statement, tickets purchased with a credit card will be automatically refunded, while other refunds will be processed at the Mary Brown's Centre box office.
Proceedings got underway in B.C. Supreme Court Monday in a case that will determine whether faith-based organizations can continue to prohibit medical assistance in dying (MAID) within their facilities.
Democratic former U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola said Monday that she would challenge Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan in this year's midterm elections, vowing to shake up the establishment to make life more affordable for Alaskans.
The federal Conservatives are accusing the Liberals of rewarding "Beijing's intimidation" after some parliamentarians on a trip to Taiwan decided to return earlier than planned.
Prime Minister Mark Carney will travel to northern B.C. to meet with Coastal First Nations before leaving on his trip to China, a government official confirmed to CBC News.
Police have charged another man in connection with a 2023 gold heist at Pearson airport, saying he was arrested after flying into the country on Monday.
Documents show the Ontario government has already spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on external legal fees to fight a successful legal challenge — which the province is appealing this month — against its plan to remove bike lanes on major Toronto streets
Gulf Island Peat Moss is monitoring a waste pile of shavings on its property in Foxley River after the pile caught fire Monday morning, a company representative says.
Officials from the London, Ont., and several neighbouring counties will push the Ford government for improved passenger rail service in the region when they meet with the Ontario government at a conference in Toronto this month.
A provincial court judge has issued a stern warning to the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary to “rethink their approach” when it comes to dealing with complaints of threats and harassment in intimate partner relationships.
Some provincial funding targeted to struggling rural hospitals in the northeast is a boon but some CEO’s say it falls short of keeping them afloat.
A Ukrainian family in Halifax says the federal government needs to provide answers to the thousands of Ukrainians who are now learning that it could be more than 50 years before their permanent residency applications are processed.
On a cold January morning, the owners of Yassou Souvlaki & Donair in Fredericton are busy heating up the kitchen, slicing vegetables and donair meat to prepare for their lunch-hour crowd.
The Transportation Safety Board of Canada and the CN Police Service are investigating following a train collision overnight in Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Que.