The Honourable Andrew Furey, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Honourable John Haggie, Minister of Health and Community Services, and Dr. Janice Fitzgerald, Chief Medical Officer of Health, will hold a media availability today at 3:00 p.m. to discuss COVID-19.

The availability will be live-streamed on the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Facebook and Twitter accounts and on YouTube.

As a safety precaution, all media covering the availability will join by teleconference only. If you have already requested to join, please reconfirm your participation by sending an email to Jillian Hood (jillianhood@gov.nl.ca).

The ice conditions in Nunatsiavut is making it hard for anyone to travel between communities and even just to gather wood and hunt for subsistence.

Rex Holwell Junior is the Nunatsiavut Operations Lead for Smart Ice in Nain.

Holwell says that he went out to test the ice at Edwards Cove and says that while he was testing the ice in areas from Nain, the ice is only 1 foot thick in some areas and 1 and a half foot thick in other areas.

There is a lot of slob in the Kauk Harbour area, and that the ice is only 1 foot thick there.

Karen Dicker is the Town Clerk and she says that they have hired two local people to set out markers from Nain to Natuashish and that this has not started yet because there is not enough ice.

She adds that the men are currently painting the markers and they will decide what they will do after the weather clears.

In Makkovik, Barry Andersen is the AngajukKâk, he says that markers were put out from Makkovik to Little Neck and that the thickness of the ice is only 14 to 23 inches thick.

Andersen adds that there is no ice passed the Makkovik Moravian Church.

There has been no markers set from Postville to Little Neck because the ice is too thin and there is too much slob.

Andersen says that markers are being set out today from Makkovik to Witch Doctor Lake today.

We will have the ice conditions for you from Hopedale and Rigolet once they become available.

Labrador-Grenfell Health is advising the public that, after postponing due to vaccine supply, it continues to plan for the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccine program for elderly persons across the region.

Beginning March 1, 2021, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be available to individuals 75 years of age or older in communities throughout Labrador Central, Labrador West and the Northern Peninsula. The vaccine will be administered by the public health vaccination teams on location.

Beginning Monday, March 1st.
Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador West, Churchill Fall’s, St. Anthony, Roddickton, Flower’s Cove.

To Book an Appointment
Beginning February 11th, individuals may call their local Public Health office to book an appointment. It is important that patients be available to receive their second dose in 21 days.

Labrador Health Centre: (709) 897 2331
Labrador West Health Centre: (709) 285-8321
Charles S. Curtis Memorial Hospital: (709) 454-0367
Strait of Belle Isle Health Centre: (709) 456 2401
White Bay Central Health Centre: (709) 457-2215
Churchill Fall’s Community Clinic: (709) 925-3377

Labrador-Grenfell Health is following provincial and national guidance on COVID-19 vaccination for priority populations. More information regarding continued implementation of vaccine in the region will be shared in the coming weeks. While waiting for your opportunity for vaccination, and after vaccination, it is important for everyone to continue to follow public health guidance to protect yourself, your loved ones, and your communities.

The Labrador Creative Arts Festival will be held virtually this year.

Sandra Broomfield is the Coordinator for the Labrador Creative Arts Festival. She says that this is the 45th annual event.

Broomfield adds that all the schools in northern, southern and central Labrador will be participating and that this year’s theme is called “Respect”.

Broomfield also adds that the schools have until end of this month to complete a video or a slide show of their communities to share with the other communities.

We will be speaking with Coordinator Sandra Broomfield later in the AtjiKangitut program to find out more about this years Labrador Creative Arts Festival.

The province is reporting 30 new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

TODAY, Tuesday, February 9th, Newfoundland and Labrador has 30 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Eastern Health region.

Contact tracing by Public Health officials is underway.

Everyone considered a close contact will be advised to quarantine.

The 30 new confirmed cases are as follows:
• Fourteen under 19 years of age
• Two between 20-39 years of age
• Five between 40-49 years of age
• Six between 50-59 years of age
• One between 60-69 years of age
• Two over 70 years of age

There are 57 active cases.

The regional breakdown of the 57 total cases is as follows:
Eastern Health-53
Central Health-0
Labrador-Grenfell Health-0
Western Health-4

There have been no new recoveries since yesterday meaning 457 people have recovered from the virus.

There is no one in hospital.

To date, 83,360 people have been tested.

The press conference is ongoing and we will keep you up to date.

The second dose of COVID-19 vaccines will be available for the coast of Labrador.

The date and times are listed for:

Postville: Wednesday, February 10th from 9:30am-1:00pm at the DHSD Building.

Hopedale: Wednesday, February 10th from 6:00pm-8:30pm also on Thursday, February 11th from 9:00am-4:00pm at the Nanuk Centre.

Nain: Friday, February 12th from 10:00am-8:00pm also on Saturday, February 13th from 9:00am-4:00pm at the JS Centre.

All dates and times are weather permitting.

Due to the weather, the vaccine dates for Rigolet and Makkovik are postponed.

OK Radio will have more information once it becomes available.

The Department of Language and Culture with the Nunatsiavut Government was scheduled to host a terminology workshop today.

Robyn Martin is the Language Program Coordinator, she says that due to weather conditions the workshop had to be postponed to February 16th, 2021 in Nain.

Martin says that there were 23 invitations sent out and 17 has confirmed that they will be attending the workshop.

This workshop will focus on terms used years ago and that are not commonly used anymore.

The Department of Language, Culture and Tourism would like to document and preserve these terms.

Also, if anyone have any old terms that are not being used anymore and would like to help document and preserve, you can contact Robyn Martin at (709) 922-2051.

The phone lines and internet has been down in Rigolet since Saturday evening February 6th.

Member of the House of Assembly Lela Evans has been in contact with Bell Aliant with regards to the outage and when the community of Rigolet should expect the lines to be restored.

Evans says that weather permitting, a chopper will be used to get to Mulliak where they have pinpointed the trouble. At Maliak or between Maliak and Rigolet.

She adds that if a chopper cannot be used to get to the site, they will fly in technicians to get to Rigolet to restore the lines as soon as weather permits.

Music NL honoured the Nain Moravian Church Choir and Nain Brass Band with its 2020 Life Time Achievement Award last Sunday, February 7, 2021.

Ann Anderson is on the Board of Directors with Music NL.

She is very pleased with the presentation of the achievement award.

Anderson would like extend her thanks to the people who helped in the preparation in putting the video together.

Stay tuned to AtjiKangitut today to hear Anderson give you more information about the award.

For the first time since COVID-19 was first detected in Newfoundland and Labrador, the province has confirmed community spread of the virus.

There are eleven new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province today, and with three non-epidemiologically-linked clusters, Dr. Fitzgerald confirmed community spread in the metro region.

She says three clusters with no known source signals community spread in the area, the extent of which is not fully known at this time.

All of the new infections reported today are in the Eastern Health region. Five people are under 20 years of age, four cases are between 40-49, one case between 50-59, and one case is over 70 years of age.

That’s prompted Dr. Fitzgerald to announce new Special Measures Orders for the St. John’s and Mount Pearl areas effective immediately.

All groups and team sports and recreational activities, as well as group instruction and arts and cultural activities that involve in-person activities, are suspended. Those activities, says Fitzgerald, are the primary areas of risk.

The province has reported 427 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. 82,530 people have been tested to date.

The COVID-19 update is currently underway. VOCM News will provide more information as it becomes available.