Canada is expected to spend a whopping $308-billion on health care this year, with Newfoundland and Labrador accounting for $5-billion of that.

Newfoundland and Labrador will spend about $213-million this year on COVID-related measures, according to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, or CIHI.

Ann Chapman, director of spending and primary care with CIHI, says health care represents about 40 per cent of all program spending by provincial and territorial governments.

Newfoundland and Labrador is projected by CIHI to spend just shy of $9600 on health care per person.

Amounts across Canada range from a low of $7000 per capita to $23,000.

Residents of Newfoundland and Labrador are reminded that Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend. At 2 a.m. on Sunday, November 7, clocks need to be turned back one hour.

When adjusting clocks, residents are encouraged to take the opportunity to change the batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.

The Department of Justice and Public Safety advises that smoke alarms are required to be installed in the following areas of a residence:

• On every level of your home, including the basement;
• In every bedroom; and
• In the hallway or room outside of every bedroom or separate sleeping area.

It is recommended that households or cabins that have a wood, oil or propane fuel-fired appliance also have a carbon monoxide detector installed on each level of the structure.

Tonight, November 5 is Guy Fawkes Night and the Provincial Government reminds residents to ensure bonfires are conducted in a safe and legal manner.

Residents are advised that it is against the law to openly burn plastics, tires, asphalt products, paint products, used oil, household garbage, and treated wood. In areas where bonfires are permissible, residents are cautioned to take the following steps:

• Fires should be placed on a gravel base at least eight to 10 meters from trees or structures;
• Bonfire organizers should ensure ready access to fire extinguishing tools and supplies;
• Once finished, the fire should be fully extinguished using water and/or gravel;
• Only adults should add material to the fire;
• Children should be kept at a safe distance at all times and closely supervised by guardians around a bonfire;
• Flammable liquids should not be used to start or accelerate a fire;
• Aerosol cans and pressurized gas cylinders such as propane tanks should not be added to a fire;
• Property owners in the area of the fire should ensure all combustible materials are properly secured; and
• The bonfire area should be cleared and returned to its previous condition after the event.

Residents are encouraged to attend a community-sponsored event; but for those who choose to hold a private bonfire, please ensure you are complying with regulations and legislation.

Please contact your municipality, Local Service District, Inuit Community Government, or local fire department for more information if necessary.

Some of the healthcare IT systems have come back online following last week’s cyberattack, but government is still not able to fully say which systems those are.

One thing that Health Minister, John Haggie could reveal is that email connectivity has returned in Eastern Health. But wouldn’t get into any specifics of what is or isn’t working at the moment, due to the sensitivity of the situation.

However, he says that the full functionality of Meditech isn’t there yet and won’t be for some time.

Emergency and urgent services in acute care facilities only will proceed today, and patients that have not been contacted should assume their appointments have been cancelled.

Psychiatry clinics are resuming today, anyone with a scheduled appointment and who has been contacted should call their clinic prior to their visit.

Some phone systems including Client Relations line, are still affected by the outage. Officials are working to restore all systems.

Chemotherapy treatments for patients are resuming today at Eastern Health region.

Haggie says oncologists have been able to identify those who had appointments cancelled and whose treatments are timely. Treatment starts today and continue through the weekend and will be done slower than before.

If electronic chemotherapy systems are unavailable, the capacity will be lowered.

Radiation therapy is cancelled and patients will be called directly when they can proceed with the appointments. Injection appointments on November 1 and 5 will proceed today at 1:30 to 4pm. Information for Labradorians whose appointments were cancelled should be available in the next few days.

A 30-foot tower just south of Nain will play a major role in securing a new airport for the community.

Erected earlier this fall, the tower is equipped with a high-tech weather station – the first of its kind to be used in Canada. The solar-powered station will collect information on wind velocity, atmospheric pressure, visibility, temperature, etc., and generate images on a daily basis. The information will be sent via satellite to Approach Navigation Systems Inc. in Moncton, NB – the company contracted to collect the data.

The weather study will take two years to complete, and is a crucial component in confirming the final concept in preparation for the drawings and specifications needed for the subsequent construction phase on the proposed new airport.

Other work to be completed over the course of the next two years include a typographical survey, a preliminary environmental review, a hydrological study, and surficial geology, geomorphology, permafrost and hydrogeological investigations, etc.

Octant Aviation out of Saint-Hubert, QC, is managing the overall project.

The Northern Production Centre here in Nain are busy as winter season is coming.

Rex Holwell Jr. is the Northern Production Lead.

He says that all 14 Smart Buoys are now completed and will be having workshops coming up soon.

Stay tuned to AtjiKangitut today to hear more from Holwell Jr. on an update from SmartICE.

Health officials are assuring the vaccine for kids age 5-11 will be no less effective even though they will be getting a smaller dose.

The province is waiting in the wings for Health Canada’s approval of the Pfizer vaccine for that age group, and has indicated that they will begin vaccine rollout as soon as they get the green light.

Some concerns have been raised about the effectiveness of the dosage approved for that age group, which is lower than that given to teens and adults. The argument is that an 11-year-old kid could be as big as some teenagers, leading parents to wonder if the vaccine will be as effective when they receive the lower dose.

According to Chief Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, the vaccine will be no less effective.

She says the dose isn’t based on weight, like it would be for some medications.

Instead, it’s based on the immune system response which is quite good in children.

The regulated price of fuels is down across the board today.

Gas has decreased by 2.3 cents per litre, while diesel is down by nearly 1.8 cents.

Furnace oil is down by 0.83 cents, stove oil is down by 1.71 cents and propane has gone down by 2.5 cents per litre.

Some systems are back up and running following a cyber attack that struck the Health Care system on the weekend.

Eastern Health is expected to issue a formal release shortly on what systems are back up and how that affects patients and patient care.

Efforts have been underway since the IT outage on Saturday to restore some services.

VOCM News is tracking the story and will have more information as soon as it becomes available.

The Ground Search and Rescue Inquiry in NL has publicly released its draft recommendations.

Commissioner, James Igloliorte recommends the province and federal governments in consultations with the policing both ground and marine search and rescue agencies arrive at a Memorandum of Understanding so that federal helicopter resources are available to support ground search and rescue operations equivalent to the availability in support of marine search and rescue.

The Commissioner is also recommending that provincial government undertake careful review of the 911 system and similar services with the goal of streamlining the existing process.

He’s also recommending that the provincial government provide funding for NL Search and Rescue Association which is largely reliant on volunteer services and funding for ground search and rescue.

Members of the association should also be eligible for certain benefits, including Workplace NL coverage, should they suffer an injury while on a police-sanctioned operation according to the Commissioner.