Today Friday, November 19, Newfoundland and Labrador has four new confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the last public advisory.

In the Eastern Health region:

– One between 60-69 years of age.

The case is a female and is under investigation.

In the Central Health region:

– One between 20-39 years of age; and
– Two between 40-49 years of age.

There are two females and one male and all are contacts of previously known cases.

Contact tracing by Public Health is underway and anyone considered a close contact has been advised regarding quarantine according to current guidelines.

There have been seven new recoveries, three in the Eastern Health region, two in the Central Health region and two in the Western Health region and 1,992 people have recovered. There is no one in hospital because of COVID-19.

There are currently 19 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. The regional breakdown of the active cases is as follows:

– Eastern Health – 7
– Central Health – 12
– Labrador-Grenfell Health – 0
– Western Health – 0

The number of tests that have been administered is not available at this time due to the ongoing IT outage.

Torngat Wildlife/Plants and Fisheries Secretariat is looking to train four field technicians from Hopedale and Makkovik in handling, banding and collaring Canada Gesse. These technicians will then be expected to participate as Field crew members during the fall 2022 collaring and banding of geese outside of Hopedale and Makkovik.

The training will take place in Prince Edward Island and travel costs and meals will covered. Field technicians will be compensated with an hourly rate of pay. Preference will be given to beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement.

Applications will be required to:

– Fly to PEI for approximately one week in April 2022
– Conduct trapping, banding, and collaring under the guidance Canadian Wildlife Services Staff. Hands-on training will be provided
– Bring the skills learned in PEI back to Nunatsiavut and participate on field crews in September 2022.

Deadline is Monday, December 6, 2021.

Anyone interested in applying to participate in this field technician training can contact Meredith Purcell at 709 896 8912 or email her at meredith.purcell@torngatsecretariat.ca.

The province’s Chief Medical Officer of Health says it will take between 4 and 6 months to vaccinate the 35,000 school-aged children in the province currently ineligible to receive the shot, but those timelines will largely depend on national recommendations.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says the hope is that they will be able to start the rollout before the end of this year and get “most” of those kids in for their first shot in early 2022.

How long it will take to get second doses administered will depend on recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

She says their guidance on the intervals between first and second doses will determine the pace of the rollout. However, she does note that they anticipate most parents will be eager to get their kids immunized as soon as the vaccine is available to them.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government will cover medical transportation costs for patients whose appointments were cancelled due to the cyberattack that has disrupted the province’s health-care system.

The coverage applies to patients who started travel before Nov. 2 and had all their appointments cancelled due to the cyberattack.

Labrador residents’ $1,000 allowance for medical transportation will not be applied against their reimbursement; they will be reimbursed for any portion that they used.

Patients can receive 100 per cent reimbursement for transportation, including flights, ferry trips, bus transportation, taxi rides and car rentals. They are also eligible for 25 cents per kilometre of travel in a private car, up to $125 per night for accommodations, $25 per night for private accommodations and $29 per day for meals for each patient and escort.

“We committed to reviewing the situation, and I am very pleased that reimbursements are now available under our medical transportation assistance program,” said Health Minister John Haggie.

Labrador West NDP MHA Jordan Brown had previously raised concerns about medical transportation costs in the House of Assembly, and the government promised to look into reimbursement.

CBC News has asked the NDP for comment.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Thursday, a spokesperson for Labrador-Grenfell Health confirmed that both patient and employee information going back nine years was stolen in the attack.

Eastern Health issued an advisory about a potential COVID exposure at a local restaurant in St. John’s yesterday.

Anyone who visited Piatto Pizzeria and Entonecca Midtown on Elizabeth Avenue on Tuesday, November 16th from 1-3 pm is asked to arrange for a COVID testing by calling 811 or completing the online assessment.

People who visited the location at that time and who have symptoms are required to self-isolate until they receive a negative result.

There is an Environmental Scientist in Nain to work on supporting Indigenous communities to protect their land and water.

Emma Harrison is a researcher from the Dalhousie University in California.

She says she is trying to establish community based environmental observation records that can be used for any of the research priorities that the community has in the future around climate change.

Click here to find out more.

The Torngat Wildlife, Plants and Fisheries is looking to hire an observer to participate on a moose survey taking place in Hopedale this winter for approximately two weeks.

The observer must be able to sit for long periods of time, be familiar with wildlife tracking in the snow, and be comfortable working in a helicopter.

The anticipated start date for this position is Monday, February 21, 2022, but the actual start date will depend on when the surveys are completed in Rigolet.

Polar Bear guard training certificate is an asset, and preference will be given to beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land claims Agreement.

Applications will be required to:

– Fly up to 8 hours on good weather days, snacks and lunches will be provided when flying full days, and observer will be compensated with a daily rate of work.
– Identify and follow wildlife tracks and assist with moose classification. Previous experience in tracking is preferred, but training will also be provided prior to take off.

The deadline to apply is Friday, December 3, 2021.

If you’re interested in applying or for more information, you can contact Meredith Purcell at 709-896-8912 or email her at Meredith.purcell@torngatsecretariat.ca.

Gas prices are going up, but only slightly this week following a few weeks of decreases.

Gas has increased by 0.2 cents.

All other fuels, including diesel, are going down by less than a cent.

The only exception is propane which will see no change.

At Gander Flight Training, they feel that it is vital to support women within the aviation industry.

With a mere 6% of all private pilots in Canada being women and only 4.5% of all Airline Transport Pilot License holders in Canada being women, it is important that we introduce as many women as possible to the industry and support them in their career paths.

Every year, Gander Flight Training (GFT) grants a “Women in Aviation” Scholarship. This is a $2,000.00 scholarship that will go towards the students training.

This year’s recipient is Ms. Mandy Smith from Makkovik, NL.

Congratulations Mandy!

With COVID -19 caseloads dropping, NL is easing some Public Health Restrictions.

Dr. Janice Fitzgerald said yesterday during the briefing, she is incredibly proud to say that our province vaccination rate is among the highest in North America.

Last Saturday, the province eased off some of its health restrictions, increasing capacity at indoor and outdoor formal gatherings where proof of vaccine is required including theatres, cinemas and arenas.

For venues with no eating or drinking, full capacity is allowed for spectators in seats with no physical distancing, Fitzgerald said. When not seated, physical distancing still applies. Masks must be worn at all time unless eating or drinking.

Formal gatherings are those organized by a recognized business or organizations. Informal gatherings, such as parties at home are still limited to a number of people who could fit in a space while allowing social distancing.

With an indication of a light at the end of the pandemic tunnel, Fitzgerald says the COVID0-19 virus is on the path to being endemic rather than pandemic – i.e., less widespread, adding there’s unlikely to be a big finish but rather gradual steps until normalcy is reached.

She added with the provinces high vaccination rate – creeping toward the 90% mark, which was a target set at the national level, discussions are happening about the easing of restrictions when that mark is reached. And with children under 12 years old remains unvaccinated is still a concern but hopes that will change soon with Health Canada set to approve Pfizer-BionTech doses for the children.

It is still very important to get those children vaccinated for us to have really good protection from the population. Once Health Canada approval comes, the vaccine rollout for under 12-year-olds will take about 6 months.

Dr. Fitzgerald added this morning Thursday, November 18, that they hope the rollout would be able to start before the end of this year, and get most of the children their first shot in early 2022.

And how long it will take to get their second doses administered will depend on recommendations from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.