{"id":13368,"date":"2020-03-04T11:22:24","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T15:22:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thelaker.ca\/?p=13368"},"modified":"2020-03-04T11:22:24","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T15:22:24","slug":"column-news-and-views-by-mla-bill-horne-april-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/?p=13368","title":{"rendered":"COLUMN: News and views by MLA Bill Horne &#8211; April 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Dear Constituents,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COVID-19 is an unprecedented and rapidly evolving situation.\nDuring this state of emergency, it is essential that Nova Scotians have access\nto accurate, up-to-date information, direction and advice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can always find the latest facts and materials,\nincluding hand-washing posters and fact sheets, at\nwww.novascotia.ca\/coronavirus .&nbsp; As we\nlearn more about&nbsp; this situation and as\nit evolves, our materials will be updated.&nbsp;\nI encourage you to visit the site frequently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below is a letter from Dr. Strang, Chief Medical Officer of\nHealth, Province of Nova Scotia, to all Nova Scotians.&nbsp; Please continue to help prevent the spread of\nCOVID-19 and use the contacts below to receive up to date accurate information.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bill Horne,\nMLA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Waverley-Fall\nRiver-Beaver Bank<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212;&#8212; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My fellow Nova Scotians,&nbsp;\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>COVID-19 is an unprecedented and rapidly evolving situation,\nand I recognize this is a scary time for Nova Scotians. Public health officials\nare working closely with our colleagues across the country and our partners in\nNova Scotia to limit the spread of the virus and increase capacity within the\nhealth system to respond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>During this state of emergency, we must all work together to\nhelp prevent the spread of COVID-19.&nbsp;\nHere are important steps we are requiring all Nova Scotians to\ntake:&nbsp; \u2022 Stay home as much as\npossible.&nbsp; When you are out, practice\nsocial distancing by limiting contact with other people (stay 2 metres (6 feet)\napart) and have no more than 5 people together \u2022 Shop only for essentials, such\nas groceries and prescription medication and only have one person doing the\nshopping \u2022 If you\u2019ve traveled outside the province, self-isolate for 14\ndays&nbsp; \u2022 If you feel unwell, go to\n811.novascotia.ca and use the self-assessment questionnaire to find out if you\nneed to call 811&nbsp; \u2022 Wash your hands\noften, avoid touching your face and clean surfaces regularly.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I understand that this situation maybe creating a lot of\nfear.&nbsp; This is normal.&nbsp; However, it\u2019s important that we respond, not\nin fear, but with caring, a sense of community and common sense.&nbsp; No one person is responsible, but we can all\nbe part of the solution.&nbsp; If someone in\nyour community is self-isolating or ill, what they need is your support,\ncompassion and understanding. I encourage you to: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;\u2022 Check in with those\nclosest to you by phone, text or social media \u2022 Have a video chat with someone\nin isolation \u2022 Make sure your neighbours have what they need \u2022 Encourage people\nto get information from reliable sources, like:&nbsp;\nwww.novascotia.ca\/coronavirus&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;Following public\nhealth direction and supporting each other is how we will beat this virus. For\nthe latest information, advice and resources, visit:&nbsp; Government of Nova Scotia:&nbsp; <a href=\"http:\/\/www.novascotia.ca\/coronavirus\">www.novascotia.ca\/coronavirus<\/a>\nGovernment of Canada:&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/canada.ca\/coronavirus\">https:\/\/canada.ca\/coronavirus<\/a>&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&nbsp;For general\ninformation on novel coronavirus information, call:&nbsp; Toll-free:&nbsp;\n1-833-784-4397 <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For updates\non social media, follow: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Government\nof Nova Scotia Facebook page: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nsgov\/GovernmentofNovaScotia\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nsgov\/GovernmentofNovaScotia<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Twitter\naccount:&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nsgov\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/nsgov<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Department of Health and Wellness Facebook page: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NovaScotiaHealthAndWellness\/DepartmentofHealthandWellness\">https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/NovaScotiaHealthAndWellness\/DepartmentofHealthandWellness<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Twitter account:&nbsp; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nshealth\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/nshealth<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We will continue to provide you with the latest information\nto help you protect yourself, your family and community members. Thank you for\nyour help in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in our province.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Dr. Robert\nStrang<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Chief\nMedical Officer of Health<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Province of Nova Scotia<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[adrotate banner=&#8221;30&#8243;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dear Constituents, COVID-19 is an unprecedented and rapidly evolving situation. During this state of emergency, it is essential that Nova Scotians have access to accurate, up-to-date information, direction and advice. You can always find the latest facts and materials, including hand-washing posters and fact sheets, at www.novascotia.ca\/coronavirus .&nbsp; As we learn more about&nbsp; this situation [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13654,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[10,2,660],"class_list":["post-13368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-column","tag-beaver-bank","tag-fall-river","tag-mla-bill-horne"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13368\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging-z.thelaker.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}