Today's COVID-19 update is scheduled to start in a few minutes. It will be live-streamed here: https://novascotia.ca/stayinformed/webcast

About to start.

Strang gives latest numbers.

Strang: we're still doing more per capita tests than any other province in Canada.

Strang: 1 positive test is someone who lives in a homeless shelter in HRM.

Strang: everyone else who stays in that shelter has now been given a hotel room (horse, barn, etc), and all the close contacts are being tested. He expects that COVID-19 is now spreading in the homeless population.

Strang says nice things about people celebrating Ramadan.

The US consulate has sent out an email alert to US citizens (including me) about the Hammonds Plains event.

Here's hoping that's someone is just shooting bottles or whatever. There's just too much of everything right now.

McNeil: we're not going to open up our economy soon.

McNeil: all the sacrifices we've made in the last 6 weeks will be wasted if we stop now.

McNeil: announces Small Business Credit program that will give loans and additionally grants of up to $1500 to small businesses. Also, the federal small business rent support program.

Gorman asks what I would've asked re homeless case. Yes, it was a resident (not a staffer) says Strang. Gorman points out that people (ahem) were arguing that all homeless people should've been put in hotels 6 weeks ago. McNeil says we didn't know about asymptomatic spread

Report of "lots of cops and ambulances" in Haliburton.

McNeil: he haven't reached peak COVID peak

Strang asked about active cases, but forgets to subtract the 16 deaths. The actual number of active cases is now442.

And, I'm told, police are at Canadian Tire in Burnside, which has been evacuated. I have no further info.

This is the worst Twitter thread ever.