Staying Informed about the Coronavirus (Covid-19)

Created: Monday, 16 March 2020 17:01

Shelburne County, NS, - Following the Province’s press conference on Sunday, March Shelburne County, NS, - Following the Province’s press conference on Sunday, March 15th, all five municipal units, involving the Mayors/Wardens, senior staff, Emergency Measures Operations (EMO) personnel and a staff representative from EMO NS, met via teleconference to discuss the coronavirus and to ensure measures are in place to provide essential services and protect staff and the public.

At this time, all municipal offices in Shelburne County remain open but this will continue to be monitored daily. For the protection of our staff, residents and visitors we are requesting that anyone visiting municipal offices or facilities respect the social distance of six feet and to continue to practice good hygiene, such as washing hands.

In the coming days, the Municipalities will meet regularly and continue to work togetheras the Federal and Provincial Governments provide updates on the status of the virus in our communities, the Province, the Country and abroad. As updates are published, we will share them on our municipal websites and social media platforms. We encourage everyone to be vigilant and do what you can to be prepared and stay informed. We appreciate how the people in Shelburne County have come together in this time of need and how they are always ready to support each other. We would also like to thank all the Health Care workers for their dedication and commitment.

Some key messages delivered by the Province at their press conference, is that we must work together; this is a time in which we need to think about others; and we must continue to protect those most vulnerable. Effective March 15th, under the authority of the Health Protection Act, the Province is requiring anyone who has travelled outside of Canada to self-isolate for 14 days upon return, even if you are symptom-free. If you are aware of anyone returning to the Country and refusing to self-isolate, we urge you to call Public Health at 902-875-2623. This is our opportunity to avoid the worst of this virus by working together. These types of actions will help slow the spread of the virus and reduce the size when it peaks. Minimizing interactions with others will also help control the virus and will help protect health resources, enabling them to respond effectively to those diagnosed with the coronavirus. Dr. Robert Strang, Nova Scotia's chief medical officer of health, encouraged us all to avoid all non-essential travel and to continue to practice good hygiene by washing your hands often, covering a cough or sneeze with a tissue, avoiding touching your face and cleaning high touch surfaces often. Being prepared and stayinginformed is vital and we encourage you to continually visit https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus for up to date information.

Finally, at the press conference, the Premier stated that we need to rely on Public Healthand on evidence-based science to make decisions. It is important that we get ourinformation from reliable sources and 811 is a great source of information. To help youbetter understand if you need to talk to 811, please visit 811.novascotia.ca to take asimple questionnaire.

For further information the press release can be found athttps://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20200315002.

Novel coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Created: Sunday, 15 March 2020 17:56

Nova Scotia announced the province’s first three presumptive cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), today, March 15. The province is also taking further measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

The cases are not connected and are travel related. The individuals followed all the proper procedures when they started to feel unwell.

“My thoughts are with the individuals affected and I wish them a speedy and thorough recovery. Now, more than ever, all Nova Scotians must follow public health direction – that’s how we will reduce the spread of this virus in our province,” said Premier Stephen McNeil. “We need to work together to protect our most vulnerable.”

Two individuals are in the Halifax Regional Municipality and one is in Kings County. All three are managing their symptoms at home in self-isolation. Details include:

• a female in her 60’s, who returned to Halifax from Australia on March 8.
• a male in his late 50’s, who recently attended a conference in California and returned to Halifax on March 13.
• a male in his 30’s, who returned to Halifax on March 10 following travel throughout Europe.

Public health has been in contact with these individuals and those who have come in close contact with them are also being directed to self-isolate at home, away from the public, for 14 days.

Additional prevention measures for Nova Scotians are in effect immediately under the authority of the Health Protection Act and include:

• long-term care facilities closed to visitors effectively immediately.
• public schools closed for two weeks following March Break (weeks of March 23 and March 30) and then will be reassessed.
• regulated child care centres closed March 17 to April 3 and then will be reassessed.
• March break camps cancelled.
• casinos in Halifax and Sydney are closed as of 12 am March 16 and bar owners can no longer operating VLTs
• anyone who travelled outside of Canada must self-isolate even if symptom-free.
• organizations and businesses must practise social distancing of two metres or six feet and keep gatherings below 150 or much smaller if possible. This applies to restaurants, bars, movie theatres and other gathering spots.

Starting Monday, March 16, public health inspectors will be onsite at the Halifax International Airport and the J.A. Douglas McCurdy Sydney Airport. Work is ongoing with federal partners responsible for border security to strengthen the screening process. As well, both airports now have information on digital screens in all areas frequented by travellers.

Nova Scotians can find accurate, up-to-date information, handwashing posters and fact sheets at https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus .

Quick Facts:

• as of March 15, Nova Scotia has completed 418 tests for COVID-19, with 415 negative results and 3 presumptive positive cases. Testing numbers are updated daily at https://novascotia.ca/coronavirus
• the Government of Canada has issued a travel advisory asking Canadians to avoid non-essential travel outside Canada until further notice.
• anyone who has travelled outside of Canada or has been in close contact with someone who has and are experiencing fever (above 38C) or cough should complete the online questionnaire to see whether you need to call 811. The online questionnaire can be found at: 811.novascotia.ca
• Nova Scotia’s Health Protection Act gives the chief medical officer of health the authority to give advice to protect public health and decrease risk to public health presented by communicable diseases such as COVID-19
• the public school system will be investigating virtual schools focused on essential curriculum to ensure Grade 12 students can graduate

Additional Resources:

The Public Health Agency of Canada maintains a list of affected areas: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/2019-novel-coronavirus-infection/health-professionals/covid-19-affected-areas-list.html.

Government of Canada: https://canada.ca/coronavirus.

Government of Canada toll-free information line 1-833-784-4397

Nova Scotia Public Health offices: http://www.nshealth.ca/public-health-offices.

Accessibility Advisory Committee

Created: Thursday, 27 February 2020 13:44

Volunteer Opportunity
Accessibility Advisory Committee

Are you looking to make a difference in your Community ? Why not consider serving as a volunteer member of the newly formed Accessibility Advisory Committee ?

The purpose of the AAC is to provide advice to Council on identifying, preventing and eliminating barriers to people with disabilities in municipal programs, services, initiatives and facilities. The Committee will play an important role in helping the Municipality of the District of Barrington become an accessible community and meet its obligations under the Nova Scotia Accessibility Act.

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Fire Department Public Meetings

Created: Wednesday, 12 February 2020 13:53

There will be public meetings held at the Barrington Port La Tour Fire Hall and Island & Barrington Passage Fire Hall on March 3rd, 2020, and the Woods Harbour Shag Harbour Fire Hall on Markch 9th.

These meetings are held for the residents from their coverage areas to attend and ask questions concerning fire response and emergency services.

The public meeting for Island and Barrington Passage is March 3, 6:30 pm at the firehall in Centerville.

The public meeting for Barrington Port Latour is March 3, 7:00 pm at the firehall in Villagedale.

The public meeting for Woods Harbour Shag Harbour is March 9 at 8:00 pm at the firehall in Woods Harbour.

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Internet Project Announced in Barrington

Created: Friday, 07 February 2020 12:38

Today, the Province of Nova Scotia and Develop Nova Scotia announced a series of major Internet projects which have been awarded as part of theInternet for Nova Scotia Initiative. The initiative, aimed to help connect more communities, homes and businesses to Internet across the province, was the result of a $193 million investment by the Provincial government in 2018.

For the past 18 months, The Municipality of Barrington has been working with the Western REN, the Municipalities of the Districts of Argyle, Clare, Digby and Yarmouth and various Internet service providers operating in Nova Scotia to identify the most underserved communities, and solutions that can evolve with changing technologies.

Due to this work and a financial investment of $200,000 by the Municipality, we areexcited to announce that 950 new homes and businesses between Charlesville through to Doctor’s Cove will soon have fibre-to-the-home Internet as part of this initiative.

Warden Eddie Nickerson explains that “improving rural Internet service is a priority and having a strong Internet network will help our Municipality build places where businesses and people prosper.”

Although this is welcomed news, the Municipality recognizes that its work is not yet over.There is ongoing work to improve Internet infrastructure on Cape Island and in Barrington Passage but there will still be areas in our Municipality, specifically the Villagedale/PortLa Tour/Baccaro areas, that will remain underserved. For that reason, the Municipality is committed to improving Internet in those areas and will continue to work with its partners to actively pursue other funding opportunities.

For more information on Develop Nova Scotia's official announcement, click here. For more local information, contact the municipal office.

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Develop Nova Scotia is the Crown Corporation responsible for developing and Develop Nova Scotia is the Crown Corporation responsible for developing and implementing a strategy to provide high-speed Internet access to unserved and underserved Nova Scotians. The Internet for Nova Scotia Initiative strategy will see highspeed Internet access available to more than 95% of Nova Scotia residences and businesses.