COVID-19 Update: Province To Ease Restrictions

Nova Scotia is beginning the slow process of re-opening the province.

Effective Friday at 3:00pm Premier Stephen McNeil and Dr. Robert Strang, chief medical officer of health announced:

– provincial and municipal parks can reopen, but playground equipment will continue to be off limits

– trails are allowed to open

– people are allowed to use and visit community gardens

– garden centres, nurseries and similar businesses can open

– sportfishing is permitted from shore or boat, but fishing derbies are not allowed

– people can attend boating, yacht or sailing clubs for the purpose of preparing boats for use

– golf driving ranges can open, including those at golf clubs, but the course must remain closed; golf clubs can perform necessary maintenance and preparations for opening

– people can use their cottages. Use is restricted to one household unit at a time, travel must be directly to the cottage and back, and travelling back and forth frequently from cottage and primary residence is discouraged

– provincial and private campgrounds remain closed, but they can perform necessary maintenance and preparations for opening. An exception is recreational vehicles parked year-round at private campgrounds, which can be used but must follow the same rules as cottages

– drive-in religious services will be allowed, as long as people stay in their cars, they are parked two metres apart and there are no interactions between people in cars or between people in cars and others

People must still follow social distancing rules by keeping two metres apart and not gathering in groups of more than five.

Dr. Strang explained why kids still can’t venture onto playgrounds.

“Playgrounds have many challenges to maintaining social distance for kids, plus, have many high-touch surfaces that cannot be sanitized. So for those reasons, for now, we are keeping beaches and playgrounds closed.”

Premier Stephen McNeil also announced he has asked Health Minster Randy Delorey to begin discussions around opening day surgeries procedures and clinics as a first step in trying to understand how to open the health care system under new protocols.

The premier says Nova Scotians have been dealing with a great deal of death over the last month and concerns about people’s mental health prompted the action to ease some of the restrictions.

“We have not lost sight of the economy. We have not lost sight of how we are going to work with our private sector. Right now this is about Nova Scotians and try to help all of us deal with what we’ve been asked to deal with.”

In his parting remarks McNeil encouraged people to get outside, get some fresh air and hang with their family.

Reported by Ed Halverson 
E-mail: edhalversonnews@gmail.com
Twitter: @edwardhalverson