Let’s build on our COVID response

Together, we can.

Atlantic Canadians have shown the world what determined jurisdictions can do to limit damage from the pandemic.

Just as Newfoundland and Labrador did back in February, Nova Scotia has successfully smothered a recent variant-fuelled COVID-19 outbreak threatening to overwhelm the province.

In late April, after months of keeping the coronavirus mainly under control, daily cases began rising sharply in Nova Scotia, peaking on May 7 with a record 227 reported new infections. On May 10, active cases hit a high of 1,655.

But just as Newfoundland and Labrador had done months earlier to confront its own alarming, though smaller, spike in COVID cases, Nova Scotia tightened restrictions, ramped up testing and asked residents to band together to deny the coronavirus opportunities to keep spreading. It worked.

By the end of May, a little over a month after the outbreak appeared, daily COVID cases in Nova Scotia were back down to single digits. It was a task well done.

The entire region, in fact, has done an admirable job of largely keeping COVID-19 at bay while other jurisdictions across Canada have struggled with high caseloads and hospitals near the breaking point.

On Sunday, just 16 new cases were reported across Atlantic Canada — eight in Nova Scotia, seven in New Brunswick, one in Newfoundland and Labrador and none in P.E.I.

With brighter days ahead, now we’ve got to maintain that hard-won momentum. That means, first and foremost, getting as many people fully vaccinated as possible.

Most of this region is at or above the Canadian average of more than 64 per cent of the population — the best rate in the world — with at least one dose of an approved COVID vaccine.

Experts say to achieve herd immunity and get back to a semblance of normal, we’ll need to fully vaccinate 70 to 90 per cent — most likely the top of that range — of everyone.

All Atlantic Canadian provinces have phased reopening plans tied to rising vaccination rates and public health data on COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations.

Nova Scotia and P.E.I. are already in Step 1, while Newfoundland and Labrador begins its “transition” phase today, June 15. New Brunswick’s opening green phase begins when 75 per cent of its population has at least one vaccination shot; on Monday, they were at 74.8 per cent.

Progress truly is in our own hands or, more precisely, our exposed upper arms.

The more people in our region get fully vaccinated, the more provinces will be able to loosen and eventually drop pandemic restrictions.

News out of Britain on Monday further underlines the urgency on vaccinations. With cases of the COVID-19 Delta variant rising, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was expected to delay lifting pandemic restrictions until more people can be immunized.

In Atlantic Canada, we can again show the world how it’s done.