Fall River neighbours honour Robert Strang for leading the charge against COVID-19

As the province's chief medical officer of health, Dr. Robert Strang is the person Nova Scotians have been turning to for information and guidanceas the number of COVID-19 cases have grown.

The married father of three has been giving daily updates on how the province is dealing with the pandemic,and his neighbours want him to know all his hard work is appreciated. They've been busy brightening up his Fall River neighbourhood with dozens of signs and chalk-painted driveways.

"I imagine Dr. Strang is away a lot from his family and I'm sure it's very hard for his family during this time of crisis," said Jackie Cohen, who helped her sons Kieran and Declan paint their driveway.

"We really wanted to make sure we pay our acknowledgements not only to him, but also his family."

Cohen spearheaded the neighbourhood effort and the nice weather on Sunday saw many families out doing the same thing as they decked out their driveways with words of thanks.

"We see him quite often walking around with his family and we're very proud to live in his community," said Christie Walsh, who had help from her two boys, Jack and Charlie, as they put their sign up Monday morning.

"He's been keeping us informed and answering questions our children have about what's going on, so we thought we should show our support for Dr. Strang and all medical professionals."

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to be a lengthy battle that could take months before it is finally passed. For Dr. Strang and everyone in the health profession, it will be a long, hard struggle.

"It makes you proud to see what the community has done," said Walsh. "He's put in so much work to keep us safe and tell us what we should and shouldn't be doing."

When asked about the signs of thanks during Monday's news briefing, Dr. Strang said he saw them while he was out for a walk in hisneighbourhood. He said he is appreciativeof the kudos but a little embarrassed, since he is just the public face for the work done by hundreds and hundreds of others across the province.