Yarmouth ferry season start to be influenced by advice from Public Health

Nova Scotia's Public Health office will have input on when or if the ferry between Yarmouth and Bar Harbor, Maine, sails this year.

Bay Ferries, which operates The Cat high-speed ferry, recently announced it is pushing back the start of the season to July 15 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this week, the federal government and American government extended the closure of the border between the two countries to non-commercial traffic for another 30 days.

Premier Stephen McNeil told reporters on Thursday that his government would continue to monitor the situation as both those dates approach, but he said a key factor in what happens in Nova Scotia will be the advice from Dr. Robert Strang, the province's chief medical officer of health.

"Of course we would listen to his advice on that and we will certainly seek it," said McNeil. "But we're a long ways away from there now."

During his regular COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday, Strang said he and his colleagues across the country have regular conversations about international and interprovincial borders and where opening them up fits into respective recovery plans.

He was frank in his assessment of what's happening in America right now.

"We clearly all recognize that of the different epidemiology in the United States, their different approach to controlling COVID is, from a public health perspective, highly problematic."

Strang said if the disease isn't well controlled south of the border, there would be a high risk of continued introduction of COVID-19 in provinces that would receive travellers from America, something that would jeopardize efforts within Canada to flatten the curve.