Today, Tuesday, February 2nd, Newfoundland and Labrador has no new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The investigation into the source of the infection for the case reported on Wednesday, January 27 is continuing. There are five confirmed cases associated with that cluster.

As part of its ongoing investigation into the cluster, Public Health is asking anyone who worked at or visited the following establishments on the specified dates and times listed below to call 811 to arrange for testing.

All those who get tested must self-isolate until they receive a negative test result.

The province has 13 active cases.

There have been no new recoveries since yesterday. Three hundred and eighty-eight people have recovered from the virus.

One person is in hospital.

To date, 80,747 people have been tested.

Nunatsiavut President Johannes Lampe is pleased to announce the appointment of Marlene Winters-Wheeler, an Ordinary Member for the Constituency of Upper Lake Melville, as Speaker of the Nunatsiavut Assembly.

Ms. Winter-Wheeler was sworn-in to her new role this morning during a sitting of the Nunatsiavut Assembly in Hopedale.

“I am confident Ms. Winters-Wheeler will carry out her duties with a sense of proportion and fairness,” says President Lampe. “As Speaker, she has the important critical role of overseeing the administration of the Assembly, to enforce and observe all standing orders and procedures, and to perform other functions and exercise additional powers as authorized by the Assembly. I look forward to working with her, and indeed all Assembly members, as we continue to address issues and concerns that matter most to Labrador Inuit.”

An Ordinary Member for the Constituency of Canada, Roland Saunders, will continue to serve as Deputy Speaker.

Groundhog Day is a popular tradition observed in Canada on February 2nd.

According to tradition, if a groundhog comes out of its hole on this day and sees its shadow, it gets scared and runs back into its burrow, predicting six more weeks of winter weather; no shadow means an early spring.

Today is Groundhog Day, February 2nd, 2021.

Shubenacadie Sam, was the first to make his prediction, hesitantly emerging from his pint-sized barn and apparently failing to see his shadow.

So according to Sam it’s an early Spring.

The Polar Bear hunt in Nunatsiavut starts today.

Selection of hunters were made yesterday under a draw system.

Jason Dicker is the Wildlife Manager for the Nunatsiavut Government.

He says that the harvesters have 7 days to try and hunt a polar bear until the license is passed down to another harvester.

There are 12 licenses that are issued by the provincial government to the Nunatsiavut Government to be used in each of the communities.

We hope to provide more information about the harvest when information becomes available.

The Widows are having their Annual Traditional Day in Nain today.

Mary Andersen is the AngajukKâk.

She says there are 4 widows celebrating their day at her home.

They went to their first Church Service at 10am.

The other two services are at 3pm with no love feast and the closing service is at 5pm.

It’s a really nice day in Nain, from over the other years where it would be freezing temperatures, windy and or a blizzard day.

Microsoft has launched an Inuktitut App.

Margaret Nakushuk is the Minister for Culture and Heritage with the Nunavut Government.

Nakushuk says that this App can be downloaded onto your computer, iPhone or iPod.

She adds that this is a good tool for preserving the Inuktitut language, particularly in Nunavut because it is only available in syllabics.

We will be speaking with Nakushuk later in the AtjiKangitut Program to find out more.

Today, Monday, February 1, Newfoundland and Labrador has no new confirmed cases of COVID-19.

The province has 13 active cases.

There have been no new recoveries since yesterday.

388 people have recovered from the virus, one person is in hospital and to date, 80,287 people have been tested.

The investigation into the source of the infection for the case reported on Wednesday, January 27 is continuing. There are five confirmed cases associated with that cluster.

The suspected case in a daycare continues to be treated as a suspected case of COVID-19. It has not yet been confirmed by Public Health as a positive case. No children or staff at the daycare have tested positive for the virus at this time.

People are encouraged to download COVID Alert to help reduce the spread of the virus. It is available for free through the Apple or Google Play app stores.

In Alert Level 2, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians should continue to practice good infection prevention and control practices.

For the most up-to-date information related to COVID-19, please visit www.gov.nl.ca/covid-19.

The campaign on January 27th, 2021 for Bell Let’s Talk generated 159 million 173 thousand and 435 interactions. Donations came to a total of $7,958,671.75.

This is up from the 2020 fundraiser by $239,300.50.

All funds raised are targeted towards Mental Health.

Mirko Bibic is the President and CEO of Bell Canada and BCE, he says that “Once again we led the world in talking openly and honestly about mental health and all the ways we can make a difference for people living with mental illness.”

It’s tax season once again, but this year, due to the pandemic, there are some significant changes for filing that people should know about.

Gerry Vittoratos is a National Tax Specialist with UFile.

He explains that this year there are two big changes to the return process.

The first is a new flat rate for home office expenses, which essentially makes it easier for those who worked from home to claim associated expenses up to $400.

Vittoratos describes the other change as a “warning” for those who received benefits associated with the pandemic, such as CERB.

He says taxes are usually deducted as part of your payroll with a company.

However, with CERB that money was not taken out, meaning people will likely have money owing to the government as a result.

He says that will be a shock to a lot of people because people who are used to having refunds will now end up owing money.

Story Courtesy of VOCM.

The OKâlaKatiget Society has a job opening for a Television Producer.

This position is a full-time permanent position.

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• Identifying story ideas and conducting research
• Operating camera, lighting and audio equipment
• Planning and conducting interviews and sources
• Outlining and writing scripts for editing
• Transcribing
• Digitally editing film on Avid software

The closing date for this position is at 4:30pm today, Monday, February 1st, 2021.

Preferences will be given to Beneficiaries of the Labrador Inuit Land Claims Agreement.

Applicants are preferred to be bilingual in Inuktitut and English as well.

You can send in your resumes by email at arlene.ikkusek@oksociety.com or Sarah Abel at sarah.abel@oksociety.com.

For more information, you can contact the OKâlaKatiget Society office at 922-2955.