As cases increase, Province activates an advanced COVID-19 response to protect British Columbians

Premier Horgan spoke to the COVID-19 coronavirus today, outlining
the expanded coordination plan that the province has in place to
address any issues related to the global outbreak

Premier John Horgan outlined the plan ahead for British Columbia as the provincial government works towards its response to the COVID-19 coronavirus, with Mr. Horgan speaking today to the the provinces moves towards mitigating the impact of the virus on communities.

The move towards the response plan comes after a spike in the number of cases that were reported to Provincial Health officials this week. With additional reports added yesterday British Columbia now has 21 reported cases of COVID-19.

The provincial blue print of response will include a Deputy Minister's Committee to oversee the whole of government approach towards implementing the British Columbia plan, the Premier and Health Minister Adrian Dix will serve as the co-chairs for the Committee.

“From the first day the world learned of this outbreak, B.C.’s public health officials have delivered the most robust response of any jurisdiction in this hemisphere. Through this co-ordination plan, we will ensure they have the support they need so we are prepared for all possibilities,” -- Premier John Horgan

With Health Minister Dix noting that the province is at critical point in the the fight against COVID-19, he offered up a glimpse at the two phases of the program.

Phase 1 of the plan is underway, addressing identification and containment -- continuing strong public health testing and close collaboration with the federal government on border surveillance, to identify and isolate individuals who test positive for the virus and their close contacts. The priority is to delay the onset of widespread community transmission for as long as possible.

Phase 2 would escalate cross-government co-ordination to quickly direct actions and resources, as required. It also prepares for the use of emergency powers set out in the Emergency Program Act and Public Health Act. It would ensure provincial business and service continuity – with four priorities:

Protecting Population 
Protecting Vulnerable Citizens 
Protecting Health Workers 
Supporting Health-care Capacity

How they would approach each of those four categories can be reviewed here.

The Province is also directing British Columbians towards their notes on pandemic preparedness and planning materials, available here.

The BC Centre for Disease control has also revised their Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

With no cases of COVID-19 recorded in Northern BC to this point, for the most part, Northern Health is defaulting to the provincial information flow.

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee

Ottawa Observations

Victoria Viewpoints

For items of interest from Northern Health see our archive page here.