There are no COVID-19 news briefings planned for this week in Nova Scotia, and it’s not clear when one might happen again.
The last COVID-19 briefing was held on July 14, three days before Liberal leader and Premier Iain Rankin requested the dissolution of the legislature, kicking off a summer election campaign.
Rankin, alongside chief medical officer of health Dr. Robert Strang, has led regular COVID-19 news briefings since he took the seat in February 2021 following the resignation of former premier Stephen McNeil.
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Global News reached out to the Department of Health to ask how the briefings would proceed, now that Rankin is engaged in an active campaign.
In an email, spokesperson Kristen Lipscombe said as of now, there are no briefings planned this week.
“We will be issuing daily releases with updated case numbers and vaccine info,” the email said. “If anything changes, we will update media through a note to editors.”
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She did not say if there were no briefings due to the election or due to the province’s COVID-19 numbers, which have been low in recent weeks.
The province is now in its fourth stage of its reopening plan and there are fewer than 10 active cases remaining.
Another pandemic election
Canada’s first provincial election held during the pandemic took place in neighbouring New Brunswick, after Premier Blaine Higgs called a snap election in mid-August 2020, which was held on Sept. 14.
Higgs ended up winning a majority Progressive Conservative government.
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During the campaign, the province held five COVID-19 news briefings, which Higgs did not attend.
Those briefings largely included back-to-school updates and were led by the province’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Jennifer Russell. She was also joined by education officials.
Higgs returned to doing COVID-19 briefings after his government won the election.