News of the week for Chéticamp and surrounding areas from January 24 to 31, 2021:

- The province announced it will be funding expansions at the Foyer Père Fiset. Premier McNeil said the government reviewed studies about infection prevention and control at long term care facilities and came to the conclusion that each resident should live in a single room and use an individual bathroom.
Although there are no details about when the work will start, the government said construction at 7 facilities across the province, including the Foyer, should be completed by 2024-2025. It is earmarking $10.5 million dollars annually for the project. Foyer Père Fiset administrators requested $5.1 million in total.

- Nominations are now open for the Lieutenant-Governor's Nova Scotia Francophonie Award. Offered for first time this year, the award recognizes citizens whose contributions have made a difference in the francophone community. There are three categories: an award for a francophone; a francophile – that’s someone who is not francophone but supports and promotes French language and culture; and there’s also a category for youth, someone under the age of 25. Submission forms can be found on the Acadian Affairs’s website, and the deadline is February 26.

- Nova Scotia has received no vaccines this past week due to Pfizer’s delay. Now, the federal government is saying there will be delays with deliveries of the Moderna vaccine as well. The country will be receiving 180 000 doses this coming week, which is 78 per cent worth of what was initially arranged. For now, Nova Scotia said it’s going to stick with the initial schedule, under the recommendation of the federal department of health and the virology expert panel that helps with decision making. According to Dr. Strang, the priority is for everyone who got a first shot, to get the second one on time. It’s already reserving vaccines for that second dose. The expert panel says that the alternative, giving the first shot to a larger number of people, would leave many to be only partly immunized while COVID is still going around, it would risk the breeding of new strains of the virus.

- Nova Scotia recently announced the easing of some COVID restrictions for sports and cultural events. As of Friday, people can now gather in groups of 60 without social distancing. It makes a world of difference to the Cabot Trail Arena’s Disco Skate Saturdays, a free event for teens from grade 7 to 12. Cyril Camus, vice-president of the arena’s board, says the new guidelines allows the arena to welcome all those who want to come. When the limit was 25, entrance was on a first come, first serve basis. The weekly event has been giving kids the chance to alleviate some of the pressures of the pandemic. “Disco Night provides an opportunity for students to come, be physically active, but at the same time, socialize and see some of their friends because that also has been an issue for some of them,” Camus said. “Let’s be real, it’s been for adults and students as well.” The Cabot Trail Arena is planning a Disco Night for adults on February. The events are funded by community sponsors and help the arena to cover maintenance costs.