ARICHAT - A longtime local physician and the director of the Strait Regional Centre for Education (SRCE) are warning Strait Area residents to take the current wave of respiratory viruses - including COVID-19, influenza, the common cold and RSV - seriously as the New Year begins. 

Dr. Robert Martel, a veteran doctor from West Arichat who has also served on Nova Scotia's provincial committee on palliative care, came out of retirement three years ago to offer his services to those who could be impacted in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the provincial Department of Health and Wellness (DHW) turned down his offer, Dr. Martel is now among those physicians who are taking part in the DHW's virtual-care strategy in the hopes of alleviating the overcrowding at emergency rooms across the Strait Area and around Nova Scotia. 

In the meantime, Dr. Martel - who filmed a series of instructional videos at the Telile Community Television studios as the pandemic swept through the region in March 2020 - is concerned that many Nova Scotians are no longer willing to abide by masking recommendations and that the rate of vaccination has slowed down considerably over the past year. 

In the wake of new provincial statistics showing that over 3,100 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed across Nova Scotia by PCR tests in December alone, while a further 12 deaths have occurred in the province during the week of January 17-23, Dr. Martel told TELILE 24/7 host Adam Cooke that local residents will have to make difficult decisions about whether to participate in public events such as community festivals that have become popular gathering spaces during the summer months. 

This week's edition also includes an interview with SRCE director Paul Landry about the presence of respiratory viruses among staff and students at Strait Area schools, along with a "Year In Review" that was delivered by Port Hawkesbury Mayor Brenda Chisholm-Beaton at the latest public meeting of town council at the Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre's Shannon Studio.