HALIFAX - Nova Scotia's Chief Medical Officer of Health is still proceeding with caution in terms of his overall approach to mask mandates and gathering limits at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In a press conference made available to Telile Community Television by Communications Nova Scotia and the Province of Nova Scotia, Dr. Robert Strang confirmed that the province has no immediate plans to bring back the gathering-limit restrictions that were lifted by the provincial government on March 21, the same date that Nova Scotia ended its official state of emergency with regards to COVID-19. 

As the public school, university and community college systems begin anew this week, Dr. Strang confirmed that Nova Scotia Public Health will not restore the mask mandates that were lifted from public schools on May 24. As a result, students and teachers returned to class on Tuesday with only a recommendation to consider wearing masks, although universities across the province have individually insisted that masks be worn by students, professors and others that are in campus facilities for prolonged periods of time. 

While daily averages for COVID-19 cases in Nova Scotia spiked at 200 just two weeks ago, Dr. Strang said he and his colleagues are confident enough in the progress of vaccination efforts across the province and the downturn in hospitalizations due to COVID-19 to refrain from wide-scale lockdowns or similar methods that have been employed across the province of the first two years of the pandemic. However, the Chief Medical Officer of Health added that his office is closely monitoring the recent arrivals of COVID-19 variants and carefully watching the strategies of other provinces and the federal government and the summer winds down. 

This week's episode of TELILE 24/7 concludes with an interview with the head of the Cape Breton Transgender Network and a board member for Cape Breton Pride, Veronica Merryfield. As she prepares to speak to the Nova Scotia legislature's Standing Committee on Health next month regarding recent measures introduced by the provincial government regarding gender-affirming surgery, Merryfield suggested that the new provisions do not extend far enough and will continue to provide hardship for Cape Breton members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community that must drive to Halifax to speak to physicians willing to provide such services.