Zach Churchill, MLA Yarmouth

Today, Iain Rankin was sworn in as Nova Scotia's 29th Premier. Our cabinet, with revamped roles and departments, supports his vision for a dynamic and prosperous Nova Scotia. The province is engaging in the opportunity to redevelop and reimagine the delivery of health care in Nova Scotia. This means the largest capital expenditures in our history. We are also instituting the Office of Mental Health and Addiction in a renewed focus in this crucial area. I am so pleased to be the new Minister of Health and Wellness and to oversee the new Office of Mental Health and Addiction. To send our new Premier a message of support, visit: https://liberal.ns.ca/sendamessage/

As of today, Feb. 22, Nova Scotia has 19 active cases of COVID-19. One new case is being reported today. The case is in Central Zone and is a close contact of a previously reported case. "Today marks an important step in our vaccine rollout with the first community clinic for people age 80 and older," said Premier Stephen McNeil. "I know we are all looking forward to seeing clinics across the province in the coming weeks and months. I thank Nova Scotians for their patience wh...ile waiting for the vaccine, and for keeping one another safe by following public health measures." Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 1,510 Nova Scotia tests on Feb. 21. As of Feb. 21, 27,521 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 11,533 Nova Scotians have received their second dose. Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 192,854 tests. There have been 521 positive COVID-19 cases and no deaths. One person is currently in hospital, in ICU. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 70. Five hundred and two cases are now resolved. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.

On Tuesday, Nova Scotia will have a new Premier. Join me in having a look back at the transformative legacy of Stephen McNeil:

As of today, Feb. 21, Nova Scotia has 19 active cases of COVID-19. One new case is being reported today. The case is in Eastern Zone and is related to travel outside the province. The person is self-isolating as required. "Nova Scotians can be proud of the work they're doing to keep our case numbers low," said Premier Stephen McNeil. "Getting a COVID test even when you don't have symptoms is one of the tools we have to slow the spread of the virus, and I'm pleased to see Nova... Scotians are stepping up to get tested and following all the public health protocols." Public health mobile units will be at the Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre, 1583 Beaver Bank Road in Halifax Regional Municipality today, Feb. 21 until 6 p.m. to conduct community-based testing. Pop-up rapid COVID-19 testing will also be taking place at the New Minas Fire Department, 6 Jones Road today, Feb. 21 until 5:30 p.m. Anyone can drop in or book an appointment online. Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 1,698 Nova Scotia tests on Feb. 20. Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 191,344 tests. There have been 520 positive COVID-19 cases and no deaths. One person is currently in hospital, in ICU. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 70. Five hundred and one cases are now resolved. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.

In 2017, the Nova Scotia Young Liberals proposed groundbreaking presumed consent legislation for organ donation, which later passed and became an official platform policy of our party. Premier Stephen McNeil became the policy’s champion, and in 2019 Bill 133, the Human Organ and Tissue Donation Act, passed with unanimous consent. For Bradley, Bill 133 is personal as at the young age of 19, he received an emergency kidney transplant. Effective tomorrow, our province will become the first jurisdiction in North America to adopt deemed consent legislation for organ and tissue donation. Learn more: https://bit.ly/2Xn6kWn

Most of those needing a transplant have acquired disease, meaning they had seen themselves as completely healthy until they weren’t. Research shows that you are six times more likely to need an organ or tissue transplant than to become a donor. That’s why this legislation is so important. We need to work toward ensuring more Nova Scotians get the life-saving help they need and deserve. Deemed consent legislation is a critical part of that work. On January 18, our province will make history when it comes to organ and tissue donation. Learn more: https://bit.ly/2Xn6kWn

As of today, Feb. 20, Nova Scotia has 18 active cases of COVID-19. Four new cases are being reported today. One case is in Western Zone and is related to travel outside Atlantic Canada. The other three cases are in Central Zone. One is a close contact of a previously reported case, one is under investigation and one is related to travel outside of Atlantic Canada. All four people are self-isolating as required. "Asymptomatic testing helps public health identify and track the ...virus in our province," said Premier Stephen McNeil. "I encourage Nova Scotians with a public health mobile unit or pop-up testing site in their community to get tested to help slow the spread of COVID-19." Public health mobile units will be at the Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre, 1583 Beaver Bank Road in Halifax Regional Municipality today, Feb. 20 until 6 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 21 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. to conduct community-based testing. Pop-up rapid COVID-19 testing will also be taking place at the New Minas Fire Department, 6 Jones Road today, Feb. 20 until 7 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 21 from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Anyone can drop in or book an appointment online. Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 2,262 Nova Scotia tests on Feb. 19. Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 189,646 tests. There have been 519 positive COVID-19 cases and no deaths. One person is currently in hospital, in ICU. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 70. Five hundred and one cases are now resolved. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.

As of today, Jan. 17, Nova Scotia has 29 active cases of COVID-19. Four new cases are being reported today. There is one case in each zone - Western, Northern, Eastern and Central. All are related to travel outside Atlantic Canada. The case in Central Zone is a student at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax who lives off-campus. All cases are self-isolating as required. "Having active cases in all zones is a reminder that the virus still wants to spread around the prov...ince," said Premier Stephen McNeil. "But we are doing a good job limiting the spread and I encourage all Nova Scotians to stay vigilant by limiting social contact, wearing a mask, distancing and following all of the other public health protocols." Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 1,396 Nova Scotia tests on Jan. 16. Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 141,223 tests. There have been 469 positive COVID-19 cases and no deaths. No one is currently in hospital. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 70. Four hundred and forty cases are now resolved. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.

Cindy Ryan knows first hand the difference an organ donation can make- she’s been a transplant recipient twice. After a virus attacked her liver, Cindy went into a coma and her family was told that without a liver transplant, she would only have four weeks to live. Today, Cindy lives a healthy life thanks to the gift of life from two fellow Nova Scotians. On January 18, our province will become the first jurisdiction in North America to adopt deemed consent legislation for organ and tissue donation. Learn more: https://bit.ly/2Xn6kWn

As of today, Feb. 19, Nova Scotia has 15 active cases of COVID-19. Two new cases are being reported today. One case is in Eastern Zone and is related to travel outside Atlantic Canada. The person is self-isolating, as required. The other case is in Central Zone and is a close contact of a previously reported case.... The public health mobile units will be at the Beaver Bank Kinsac Community Centre, 1583 Beaver Bank Rd. in Halifax Regional Municipality today, Feb. 19, to work closely with the families and staff of the Beaver Bank-Monarch Drive Elementary School after a case connected to the school was reported this week. On Saturday, Feb. 20 from noon to 6 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 21 from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., they will be conducting community-based testing. Anyone can drop in or book an appointment online. Nova Scotia Health Authority recently issued an exposure notification for the New Minas area. Anyone who was in those areas is being encouraged to book an appointment for a COVID-19 test. Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 1,700 Nova Scotia tests on Feb. 18. There were 645 tests administered on Feb.13 and 14 at the rapid-testing pop-up sites in Halifax, Kentville and Digby. As of Feb. 17, 25,032 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered. Of those, 9,782 Nova Scotians have received their second dose. Immunization data as of Feb. 18 was not available at the time of today's reporting. It will be updated on the COVID-19 dashboard once available. Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 187,384 tests. There have been 515 positive COVID-19 cases and no deaths. One person is currently in hospital, in ICU. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 70. Five hundred cases are now resolved. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.

Your endorsement means a lot Zach. I'm proud of what we've achieved as a government and as Premier I look forward to working alongside you to achieve results for Yarmouth and surrounding area.

As of today, Jan. 16, Nova Scotia has 30 active cases of COVID-19. Four new cases are being reported today. One of the cases is in Eastern Zone and is related to travel outside Atlantic Canada. The person is a student at Cape Breton University in Sydney who lives off-campus and is self-isolating, as required. The other three cases are in Central Zone. One of the cases is a close contact of a previously reported case. The other cases are both related to travel outside Atlantic... Canada. The people are self-isolating, as required. One of the cases is a student at Dalhousie University in Halifax who lives off-campus. "We are seeing young people at universities taking the isolation requirement seriously and I want to thank them for protecting the health of others in their school community," said Premier Stephen McNeil. "This is a good example of how following public health protocols helps us contain the virus." Nova Scotia Health Authority's labs completed 2,293 Nova Scotia tests on Jan. 15. Since Oct. 1, Nova Scotia has completed 139,827 tests. There have been 465 positive COVID-19 cases and no deaths. No one is currently in hospital. Cases range in age from under 10 to over 70. Four hundred and thirty-five cases are now resolved. Cumulative cases may change as data is updated in Panorama.