British Columbia's State of Emergency Extended to February 16th

 The Province of British Columbia has extended the ongoing COVID related State of Emergency for the 24th time, announcing on Tuesday that current situation will be extended to the end of February 16th.

The extension allows for health and emergency management officials to continue to use extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act (EPA) to support the Province's COVID-19 pandemic response. 

Premier Horgan observed of the current concerns towards risk for the health care system as key when it came to the latest extension.

 “We’d all like to get back to a more normal life, but our case numbers will rise if we’re not careful. We’re well prepared, but as we’ve seen around the world, increased COVID-19 cases could put our health systems and us all at risk. We need to hold the course until we bend that curve down. It’s time to work together, support each other and continue to follow public health guidance so we can keep people safe.”

The extension comes at the recommendation of the province's health and emergency management officials, the first declaration was issued on March 18th 2020.

Some background on the State of Emergency can be reviewed from yesterday's statement from Victoria.

For more notes on the Legislature see our archive page here.