Rapid test distribution on hold in Sackville, Moncton location still active
The Horizon van won’t be back at the Tantramar Veterans Memorial Civic Centre today to distribute more rapid test kits.
Last week, the mobile distribution site visited the parking lot to hand out 648 small 5-pack kits, and 96 large 25-pack kits to people walking, riding or driving by. It was the first week of the mobile site program designed to visit weekly, but Horizon spokesperson Kris McDavid says the mobile sites will be closed this week.
Rapid test kits will continue to be available for pick up at “hub sites” around the province. The closest hub site to Sackville is 380 MacNaughton Avenue, near the Moncton Costco. That site will be open Monday to Friday, from 1pm to 6pm, or as daily supplies last.
For further information, check the Horizon website here.
Amherst fire displaces 20 people from rooming house
Twenty people have been displaced by a fire early Monday morning in a three-story rooming house in downtown Amherst.
No injuries were reported at the scene in residents or firefighters, according to Amherst director of fire services, Greg Jones.
The Amherst Fire Department received a call at about 3:45am on Monday. When they arrive on scene, firefighters found smoke coming out two back doors that led to the basement of the rooming house at 4 Prince Arther Street. The fire was mostly confined to the basement of the structure, and the extent of damage is still being determined.
Firefighters spent about 45 minutes putting out the fire, said Jones.
Red Cross volunteers are assisting 16 adults with emergency lodging and purchases of food, clothing and some other basics. Four other tenants were not at the scene when the Red Cross arrived.
Town council: multipurpose building could cost $3.4 million and possible skateboard park study coming
Sackville town council got a first glimpse last night of what it might cost to build a new multi-purpose building for the town to accommodate the farmers market and new recreation space. The rough estimate came in at $3.4 million for a building nearly 11,000 square feet in size. Councillors expressed interest in continuing to explore options for the building, but staff said the size of the project means it is a few years off.
At their next meeting on Monday, council will be asked to approve hiring Newline Skateparks to do a feasibility study on a new skatepark for Sackville. The study will cost about $12,500, and if approved, could be completed by the end of the year.
CUPE strike updates
Blaine Higgs has postponed the throne speech that would have kicked off a new session of the provincial legislature today. Instead, the previous session continues, freeing up legislative days this week and giving the government the flexibility to bring in back to work legislation sooner. Higgs told reporters yesterday he wasn’t planning on bringing in the legislation today, but also that it could happen at any time.
CUPE picketers are gathering for a march in Fredericton today, starting at noon and finishing at 1pm at the legislative assembly. Picket lines will also form around the province. In Sackville, striking workers will gather at the corner of York and Main.
Education minister Dominic Cardy took some time Monday afternoon to explain to reporters why he felt a lockout of CUPE school workers was a necessary pre-emptive move in response to the current strike. Cardy said that in addition to moving schools to online learning, it was necessary to lockout workers in order to eliminate the possibility that CUPE would send workers back to certain schools without notice.
COVID-19 update: 38 new cases, case origin stats updated
Public Health announced 38 new cases of COVID-19 in the province yesterday, 15 of which were in Zone 1, the Moncton region. Out of the new Zone 1 cases, 10 were connected to previous cases and five are under investigation. The number of active cases in Zone 1 went up slightly to 202 on Monday.
The province update its case origin statistics on Monday, reclassifying 1600 cases previously deemed under investigation. About 1500 cases were determined to be contacts of other cases. 30 cases were deemed a travel-related, and about 70 cases were classified as community transmission. The province has yet to release any information on where cases of community transmission have been or are occurring. There remains 1061 cases of unknown origin on the province’s dashboard, and there are 506 active cases as of Monday.