COVID Scare at Chéticamp Canada Post

News of the week for Chéticamp and surrounding areas from January 17 to 24, 2021.

- The local Canada Post office was closed for a few days this week after an employee was exposed to COVID-19. In an email, Canada Post said that all their Chéticamp employees were tested, and the results came back negative. During the closure, the office was also sanitized.

- The province is extending most of its COVID restrictions until February 7, but it’s is loosening some of them. Starting on January 25, the number of people allowed without physical distancing at sports and cultural events is going back to 50.  For sports, players will be able to train and compete within their regular schedule, but events that bring together teams or participants that would not regularly compete against each other will not be permitted. For arts and culture, performances can only be virtual. Just like sports, there can be no in-person spectators.

- The government is also announcing the easing of a few more restrictions: residents from adult service centres and regional rehabilitation centres can go out into the community to work and volunteer.

- This week the province put out a call for volunteers to work at the community vaccination clinics that will be set up in the spring. The government is looking for healthcare providers, like people interested in coming out of retirement, and also non-healthcare workers. According to Nova Scotia Health’s website, there are opportunities at the local Sacred Heart Hospital.

On Thursday, inverness County held its January Committee of the Whole (COW). Different from monthly council meetings, COW meetings are meant for open discussion about issues that will be voted on during upcoming council meetings. During the Committee of the Whole, councillors hear input from municipal staff, and then exchange ideas and make recommendations for the next council meeting. Here are the highlights for Chéticamp from this month’s COW:

- Councillors said they received complaints from all over the county about issues with snow clearing. The municipality currently has 72 hours to clean up after a storm. Council is interested in possibly making that time frame shorter, and it will be having a detailed discussion about it at the next Committee of the Whole, where councillors and staff will look into logistics.

- There is an update about winter sports equipment rentals. A new site where residents can take out winter gear like skis, snowshoes and walking poles is being established in Chéticamp. Currently there are 3 spots in the county where you can get them, and that’s in Port Hood, Inverness and the Margaree Library (which has only snowshoes). Charlotte MacDonald, Recreational Manager at Inverness County, said the municipality is in the process of acquitting new gear. “We are dependent on funding. We receive funding thought the Sports Fund project in order to get equipment for some of the equipment that we’re ordering to expand that inventory. So, we have most recently, last week, received the approval for that funding. Now that we know what it is, we’re going to move forward with that order.” There’s no confirmed opening date for the Chéticamp site so far.

- The Sacred Heart Hospital foundation is requesting $20,000 to buy and repair equipment and to pay for the building’s maintenance. During the meeting, councillors recommended to defer that funding to the next fiscal year that starts on March 31st, 2021. This will be confirmed at the next council meeting the first week of February, when council will take a vote on it.