Yesterday, Monday, October 12, Newfoundland and Labrador had one new confirmed case of COVID-19.

The one new confirmed case is a male in the Central Health region between 20-39 years of age.

The new case is travel-related. The individual, a resident of Newfoundland and Labrador, returned to the province from work in Alberta.

The individual has been self-isolating since arrival.

Contact tracing by Public Health officials is completed. Anyone considered a close contact has been advised to quarantine.

This brings the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the province to 283. The province has nine active cases.

270 people have recovered from the virus and to date, 46,792 people have been tested.

In Alert Level 2, individuals should continue to practice good infection prevention and control practices. Daily preventative actions can help to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

People are reminded that COVID Alert is available for download free through the Apple or Google Play app stores. Public Health is encouraging people to download the app to help reduce the spread of the virus.

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

Inuit youth from across Canada will gather in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut this summer for a National Inuit Youth Summit. The summit, to be held July 26th-30th, 2021, provides an opportunity for Inuit youth to come together to discuss issues of mutual importance, learn leadership skills, build cultural connections and determine the priorities to the National Inuit Youth Council. The Summit program will include themes of Empowerment (Building Connections/Education), Inuit Language & Culture, and Mental Emotional Wellbeing.

Throughout the Summit, participants have the opportunity to:

• Learn and share traditional skills, knowledge, and customs.
• Develop a variety of leadership and employability skills, as well as the confidence and resilience to use these skills.
• Explore and discover areas of personal interest, skill, and capacity they might not have valued or known about.
• Find inspiration, feel empowered, and share reflections through art, written and verbal communication, and storytelling.

Eligibilty:

• Be an Inuit youth between the ages of 15-30 at the time of the Summit
• Willing to travel and be away from home for up to 7-10 days
• Demonstrate some or all of the following qualities: a passion for learning, interest in Inuit culture, leadership qualities and/or potential to develop these qualities; a desire to make a difference, become an NIYC ambassador and be an active and responsible citizen
• Understand that the Summit is alcohol and drug free. The Summit has a zero-tolerance policy. Use or possession of drugs or alcohol is strictly prohibited
• Understand that this is a unique experiential education and leadership development program – Full participation in all aspects of the program is expected
• Accept the responsibility to act as an ambassador for his/her community and region

Some people in a remote part of Central Newfoundland fear they may have come into a contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19.

In yesterday’s COVID-19 update, Public Health identified one new case, saying only that the person was a man who resides in Central Newfoundland tested positive after returning from work in Alberta.

Fogo Mayor Wayne Collins says a group of teenagers who returned on the Ferry last evening were in an area of central where they came into contact with a man who had just returned from Alberta.

Mayor Collins says people on the Island should be very cautious. He says they as parents are concerned that their children may become infected.

There will be a Flu Shot Clinic at the Nain DHSD.

The dates are set from October 19th-22nd, and then again from October 26th-29th.

Any person older than 6 months of age may receive the flu vaccine.

This includes pregnant women, elderly persons, and those who have chronic health conditions such as diabetes, heart and lung diseases.

The influenza vaccine can prevent or lessen the burden of influenza illness in our community.

The elderly, young children and those with chronic health conditions and compromised immune systems are at higher risk for developing complications if they become ill with influenza.

Even if you consider yourself to be a healthy individual, you can help prevent the spread of influenza to those who you live and work within the community.

Depending on demand, more clinic dates will be posted. If you are unable to schedule an appointment during those dates, appointment requests can be made at Public Health at 922-2962.

The Torngat overall fishery and operations in the two fish plants went quite well this summer amidst COVID-19, with the exception of the snow crab fishery.

Keith Watts is the General Manager of Torngat Fish Producers Co-operative.

He says the char and scallop landings at the Nain fish plant were productive.

With the Makkovik fish plant 428,000 lbs of turbot was processed, which is similar from last year.

Watts says “there could have been more turbot, if we been successful and the boats landed more.

He says all the fish products were shipped out on the Kamutik W and are in the cold storage in Goose Bay.

To hear Watts give you more details of how the fishery went this past summer, click here.

The Makkovik Department of Health and Social Development held a Sportsmeet in their community.

Gemma Andersen was the organizer of the events.

It was held from October 5th to October 9th at the Makkovik Arena for all grades and 18 years and older.

There were prizes of gift cards for iTunes, Visa and Franks General Store, school supplies and a camera.

Here are the prize winners:

For Grades kindergarten to grade 6:
Julia Winters won the camera.
Tessa Evans won the school bag and school supplies.
Maggie Evans won a $25 Franks gift card.

For Grades 7 to grade 12:
Jesse Ford and Brayden Davis won a $25 iTunes card.
Shane Winters won a $25 Franks gift card.
Seth Ford won the game.

For 18 years and up:
Kim Andersen and Jessica Winters won a $25 Visa card.
Collen Pottle won a $25 Franks gift card.
Travis Dyson won the sequence game.

Andersen would like to thank everyone who participated, watched, and cheered. She will continue to make the sportsmeet an annual event.

The TaKuaKautik Food Bank Committee is seeking volunteers.

Brenda Jararuse is the Director of Culture with the Nunatsiavut Government.

She says there are three so far on the committee, and are looking for two to four more members to join.

The volunteers must be dedicated and dependable to join into the committee.

They will be meeting once a month or twice depending on the number of food orders to bag food items.

They meet once a month to distribute food, they must keep up with the Facebook group chat to discuss food bank topics and will be doing face to face meetings if necessary and more responsibilities in the committee.

If there is anyone who is interested in joining or for more information you can message or to comment on the last post from the TaKuaKautik Nain Food Bank Facebook page.

Jararuse added that they will be gathering up food on October 26th and will be handing them out on October 29th.

In keeping with the Provincial Government’s focus on improving the overall experience that residents and businesses have when interacting with government, a new feature has been added to the MyGovNL platform allowing parents and legal guardians the ability to renew MCP accounts for their dependents.

Along with being able to manage MCP accounts online and the ability to sign-up to be an organ and tissue donor, users can also link their driver’s license and vehicle registration information to their account, as well as several other related features. The MyGovNL platform is available for all residents of Newfoundland and Labrador.

To see a full list of Provincial Government services available online, and to sign-up for MyGovNL, visit the Digital Government webpage.

Since the introduction of a five-year Digital Government plan in 2018, government has progressively transformed the way services are delivered in Newfoundland and Labrador. MyGovNL registration has grown by approximately 1,400 per cent since March 2020 to more than 120,000 users.

Yesterday, Thursday, October 8, Newfoundland and Labrador had no new confirmed cases of COVID-19. The province has four active cases.

269 people have recovered from the virus and to date, 45,591 people have been tested.

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

Daily preventative actions can help to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

People are reminded that COVID Alert is available for download free through the Apple or Google Play app stores. Public Health is encouraging people to download the app to help reduce the spread of the virus.

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

The Nain Youth outreach worker held a moose hide slipper making this week.

Sue Webb was the instructor.

There were three students including the youth outreach worker, Crystal Allen-Webb learning to sew slippers.

Click here to hear more on what Webb says about her teaching.