Expect the provincial government’s regular COVID briefings to continue into 2021.

Health Minister John Haggie believes the province’s approach to information sharing during the pandemic has helped to prevent some of the issues seen in other areas.

Haggie says the biggest tool in the fight against coronavirus is education.

He explains that a lot of what we thought we knew about the virus has changed and that the frequency of the briefings was very important in keeping people informed.

In contrast with other jurisdictions that have reduced the frequency of the briefings or have just gone to media releases, Haggie believes the province’s regular COVID briefings have helped to prevent communications problems seen elsewhere.

Haggie is quick to point out however that this province hasn’t gone without its share of issues.

One thing that struck Haggie is how the information they give out at the briefings can be out of date by the time they head back to the department. He envisions that continuing to be an issue going forward until the vaccine is “well adopted.”

There is no COVID-19 update from public health officials today because of the New Year’s holiday.

The regular COVID update will be released by government tomorrow afternoon and through the weekend, while the live briefings will resume next week.