WATCH: N.L. to move to modified Alert Level 3 on Monday
CBC
Newfoundland and Labrador will move to a modified version of Alert Level 3 of its tiered system of pandemic health restrictions on Monday, the provincial government has announced.
The move, which will loosen restrictions on businesses and gatherings, will allow the province to "open up a little bit more," said Premier Andrew Furey at a COVID-19 briefing Thursday morning.
The province will also lift isolation restrictions for travellers entering the province beginning Monday. People arriving in the province will no longer have to self-isolate for two days. They will still need to take a COVID-19 rapid test daily for five days after arrival.
Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said gyms and fitness facilities will be able to reopen at 50 per cent capacity. Bars and restaurants can also open at 50 per cent capacity with distancing between tables and mask-wearing at all times except when seated, eating or drinking.
Movie theatres, performance spaces and bingo halls can reopen at 25 per cent capacity or 50 people, whichever is less. Masks must be worn at all times except when eating or drinking.
Formal gatherings will be limited to 25 per cent capacity or 50 people, whichever is less, while informal gatherings are limited to a steady 20 contacts.
Fitzgerald said the province will watch case numbers and hospitalizations, and if all goes well the province will ease restrictions further on Feb. 21.
"We need everyone to stay with us while we gradually reopen the tap and monitor the effect. If co-operation weans now, the impact could result in a delay," she said.
"We are all tired of this pandemic and the restrictions, and I can relate, believe me. But we need to pace ourselves. The last thing anyone wants is to have a set back in the final mile because we moved too fast."
The province reported 198 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 Thursday, along with its 45th death as a result of COVID-19. The death was in the Eastern Health region, Fitzgerald said.
A total of 372 recoveries were also reported, dropping the known active caseload to 1,720.
Twenty people are hospitalized as a result of COVID-19. Fitzgerald said the data trends forecast by Dr. Proton Rahman, who suggested the province could see a peak of 20 to 30 hospitalizations over the course of the Omicron wave, are holding true so far but things could change.
As restrictions loosen and people start to move around more, Fitzgerald said it's likely there will be more cases.
"As we start to move through this, we will get to a point where the prevalence will start to be lower," she said.
People are descending upon the city for the dozens of events and live music performances this week as the Juno Awards are set to take place Sunday at Hamilton's TD Coliseum.
For nearly two decades, Amanda Loewen's world ended where the pavement did.
The notion that home ownership guarantees financial security in old age is being challenged by a recent survey.
The family of Nash Prystie has identified him as the man who died in an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) shooting earlier this month north of Kenora, and is calling for more and quicker help for people with mental health challenges.
Playoff action in the Ontario Hockey League gets underway Thursday night for Guelph and Friday in Kitchener.
UPEI wants its faculty to sign on to an updated version of its sexual assault and discrimination policy, but the union that represents the school's academic staff says it wants the policies to be part of its collective agreement.
In Texas this week for a global energy conference, the federal natural resources minister is proclaiming "Canada is back" and ready to bolster its energy sector and grow exports.
Members of Parliament last year went on the fewest sponsored international trips in the last 15 years, excluding the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ontario is running out of time to beef up rules that would crack down on negligent and misbehaving municipal politicians ahead of the next civic election, some experts and opposition critics warn.
Six London teens are each facing multiple charges following a break-and-enter spree at homes in the city's southwest end early Sunday, police said.
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is putting the finishing touches on completing the Team Gushue Highway, but it means drivers might have to change their routes until later this summer.
Passage of the Nova Scotia government's budget bill stalled late Tuesday night when a group of singing protesters shut down the final vote to approve the budget.
Health Minister John Dornan said Woodstock-based eVisitNB will continue to provide virtual health-care services to New Brunswickers for another 90 days after March 31.