Two survivors rescued, one death reported after Prawn vessel capsizes off of Moresby Island

A fishing skiff capsized off Moresby Island Tuesday resulting
in the death of one crew member with two others rescued

The Queen Charlotte RCMP have provided an update on a marine incident off of Haida Gwaii that sadly has  seen one member of the crew of a fishing vessel pass away, while two others were rescued by a nearby vessel.

In a media release from the RCMP, the Joint Response Coordination Centre out of Victoria, provided some background to the Tuesday evening incident, with the capsized vessel located near Oliver Island outside of Moresby Camp on Moresby Island. 

JRCC reported that another vessel had located the capsized prawning boat with two (2) survivors clinging to it and one person in the water. BC Ambulance and Sandspit Coast Guard responded to the scene. 

The Captain of the vessel who found the prawning boat said he arrived on the scene at 4:30 PM, and it is believed the boat had capsized an hour before that. 

The boat, a 22 foot aluminum open haul skiff, had capsized after a series of waves hit it broadside. 

Queen Charlotte members attended the scene where paramedics and Coast Guard members were providing medical treatment to a 54-year-old man. The man was transported to hospital where he was pronounced deceased. 

No further details have been released related to the home port for the vessel, or the hometown of the crew members.

The BC Coroners Services is conducting a parallel investigation into the cause of death. 

They and the RCMP state that they will have No further information to be released at this time.

The full statement from the RCMP can be reviewed here.

A look at past Emergency Service notes for the Northwest and Haida Gwaii can be explored here.

Prince Rupert data from BC CDC shows much welcome drop in week to week reports of COVID from community outbreak

Finally after two and half months, there is some welcome news for the North Coast, with today's information release from BC CDC showing a drop of thirty three cases of COVID in this region from one week ago.

Today's report shows that Prince Rupert's totals for the week of March 21-27, listed at 80 reported positive cases of the coronavirus.  

A small sign, perhaps  that the community may finally be getting a hold on the expansive outbreak of the last two months.

For much of the last six weeks, Prince Rupert results have remained stubbornly high, which led to one of the factors in the decision to host the community wide vaccination clinic earlier this month.

However while signs appear positive, earlier this week, the North Coast took note of a reminder that the challenges remain.

That as  Northern Health announced an outbreak at the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital, reinforcing the message that we need to continue to be aware of the health measures in place for the province.

For the rest of the Northwest, this week provides good news of declines in case counts across the region, with no increases to be found in any community west of Prince George.

Across the remainder of the Northwest, the cases reported from  March 21 to 27 were as follows.

Terrace -- 20
Upper Skeena  -- 17
Kitimat -- 13
Smithers -- 8 
Nisga'a Region -- 7
Haida Gwaii -- 5
Burns Lake -- 4 
Bella Coola Valley -- 1

The Central Coast, Snow Country-Stikine-Telegraph and Nechako regions all have reported no cases this week from the data review. 

Other charts and information from the BC CDC can be explored here.

You can review the latest information from the Public Health office Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix here.  

Wednesday COVID report sees British Columbia total top over 1,000 on the day ... marking one day record in case counts.

The pace of COVID case counts is charting new and worrisome territory today, with the province delivering a single day count of over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus in British Columbia, a one day record since the arrival of the coronavirus in January of 2020.

The totals today, moving us above the 1K mark that we have been flirting with for weeks now, with over 87 percent of the cases coming from the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health regions.

The daily review for Wednesday came by way of a statement from Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.

“Today, we are reporting 1,013 new cases, including six   cases, for a total of 100,048 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 7,405 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 11,468 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. 

A further 91,066 people who tested positive have recovered. “Of the active cases, 301 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 80 of whom are in intensive care. 

The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

There have been three new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,458 deaths in British Columbia."

Across the province the Health Authority totals were as follows: 385 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 458 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 47 in the Island Health region, 64 in the Interior Health region, 

There were 60 new cases recorded in the Northern Health region, which brings the Northern region total to just under the 6,000 mark with case to date now listed at 5,944 cases of COVID reported across Northern BC since January of 2020.

Today delivered no new cases of COVID for people in British Columbia who reside outside of Canada. 

There was a delay in the sequencing analysis for variants of concern today, and as a result, the new cases for the last 24 hours are not available for review.

The pace of vaccination in the province was as follows today.  To date, 756,080 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,351 of which are second doses.

Doctor Henry and Minister Dix also noted how the province remains on track towards its vaccine schedule but that challenges still remain.

“There are three important things to remember about the COVID-19 vaccines. First, everyone will have access to a safe and effective vaccine, and that remains on track to happen before Canada Day. 

Second, the more people who receive a vaccine, the safer we all are, which is why we are working around the clock to get vaccines into arms as quickly as possible. 

Third, we don’t yet have enough people protected through the vaccines to be able to put aside any of our safety precautions, so we need to continue to follow all the public health orders and guidelines we have in place."

Further notes on Wednesday's report can be reviewed here.   

BC CDC Data for BC For March 31 2021

BC CDC Data for the Northern Health Region For March 31 2021

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable 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.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

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

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed 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

 

 

CityWest hopes to have Fibre to Home in place in 60 percent of Prince Rupert homes by years end

COVID it appears has provided for a bit of a challenge when it comes to the roll out of CityWest's Fibre to Home project, with the City of Prince Rupert owned and operated communication company now advising that they hope to see 60 percent of the city wired up by this fall.

The 10 million dollar project was introduced in 2017,  launched in 2018 and CityWest officials last reported that the project had hoped to reach fifty percent coverage by the end of 2019. 

With CityWest having announced a number of out of town fibre projects over the course of the last few months, the North Coast Review contacted Chris Armstrong from CityWest for an update on the local work of much interest to city residents.

In reply, the Director of Sales and Marketing observed that the pace slowed down locally last year owing to COVID, with the company looking to have another sector of the city, focused on the Hays Cove Circle area of the city, done by the fall. 

A goal which if achieved would make for 60 percent coverage to that point for the city.

The area from Hays Cove Circle to McBride is said to be next up for
CityWest's Fibre to Home project in Prince Rupert

Towards the overall Fibre to Home project Mr. Armstrong observed:

'We’re looking to one day having fibre to the home all over Prince Rupert, and all our customers today can access fast and reliable Internet, TV, and phone services."

From the map provided at the time of the 2019 update, once the Hays Cove/Fifth East region is complete, the areas that would remain for the Fibre project would include connecting the downtown area, the Crestview/Prince Rupert Boulevard area, as well as the Sloan/Summit/Kootneay  area on the west side of the city.

You can review some of the past notes on the Fibre to Home project from our notes below:

February 19, 2019 -- CityWest eyes fifty percent coverage of Prince Rupert by year end for Fibre to Home expansion project
June 5, 2018 -- CityWest provides Fibre to home timeline report for Prince Rupert
May 31, 2017 -- CityWest announces 10 million dollar investment in fibre infrastructure set for Prince Rupert

With the residents of Prince Rupert owners of CityWest, City Council may want to return to the days of past and ask for some regular updates from the communication company to keep its investors up to date. 

Providing a forum at a public Council session for company officials, even if by Zoom if necessary,  to speak to some of the latest plans for the city owned company.

Sharing further details on the projects ahead for far flung areas of the Northwest and Coastal BC; as well as to the more nearby reaches of the city whether downtown, west-side or east-side.

The Search engine from the CityWest website offers a few company themes on Fibre to Home to explore

More notes on CityWest can be reviewed from our archive page here.

Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue puts recruits through the paces

The path towards service with the Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue department is currently running through the Gymnasium complex at the Jim Ciccone Civic Centre.

That as the PRFD hosts their recruit testing process today, with the physical fitness testing element the focus for some of today's work. 

Some of the challenges for those who have applied for the open position with the department are being chronicled through the PRFD Facebook page today.

The video of the session showing the recruits, five male and one female getting some leg work in during the course of the morning work.

The would be members of the Department currently being evaluated are from the call for applications from mid February, with one position open from that career opportunity job posting.

You can follow along with the day's testing as well as find other notes from the Prince Rupert Fire/Rescue Department from their social media page here.

More notes on the work of Emergency Responders across the Northwest can be reviewed here.

SD52 provides update on Budget Consultation process, with Budget decision Looming in April

Members of the Prince Rupert School Board of Education hosted an online Budget Consultation session on Monday, providing a wide ranging review of the Budget process so far, as well as to share some of the feedback that they have received from the public to this point of their work on the financial planning for 2021-2022.

SD52 has provided the full overview of the Monday presentation, posted to the District website, which outlines many of the elements covered during the course of the session this week.

The opening of their review included a look at the plans ahead over the next five years, with notes on teacher recruitment, some forward momentum towards a new middle school and a look at the Focus of Education that the Board has adopted, a five point program towards learning as well as some of their Frameworks towards enhanced learning.

Documentation  also included a look at Graduation rates, as well as the impact of the pandemic on student learning and achievement.

Towards the Budget process, the District has provided a glimpse into the factors that impact on Budget Making as well as what they have heard from those who have participated in the process to date.

The Board provided some additional background on some of their Risk Analysis towards education in the District, outlining many of the factors they are working with when it comes to crafting their financial plan for the next few years.

When it comes to following the money at the School District offices, the majority of the District's expenses can be found in one category that of Labour costs, an area which takes up close to 90 percent of expenditures.

Looking ahead the Board notes of the timeline ahead when it comes to hearing of staffing challenges for the year ahead. With retirements and resignations part of their planning process, as well as planning for the PRMS replacement project as well as whatever new challenges COVID may deliver.

The full overview of the Budget presentation, which is well worth exploring to understand the process can be found here.

With their consultation process now at an end, the Board next meets on Tuesday April 6th to review the feedback from the public and any additional notes that may come along until that date.

The Budget Decision making will be complete by April 13th, with a Third Reading of the Budget document to come in May.

At that time, students, parents/guardians, staff and support workers will all have a sense of the path ahead for education in the Prince Rupert area for the year ahead.

More notes on the SD52 Financial review can be found from the Board of Education website here.

Further notes on education across the Northwest can be found from our archive pages here.

Coast Mountain College's Prince Rupert Campus to offer Life in the Oceans course

The classroom for the most part will be the tidal areas and ocean spaces of the BC coast and so for Coast Mountain College, the logical place for their Life in the Oceans course is the Prince Rupert campus.

The college is set to offer an upcoming two week field course on biological oceanography and ecology, packing a lot of hands on experience into travels along the inter tidal zones of the North Coast and the Open ocean.

The program led by Professor Kirk Hart, provides participants with 6 course credits and features the Principles of Ecology and an Introduction to Biological Oceanography as the two elements for study from April 26 to May 8th.

You can learn more about the program here.

More information related to Registration for Coast Mountain College programs can be explored here.

Further notes on the Prince Rupert campus and the College across Northwest BC can be reviewed here.

Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Lee Brain call on residents to keep Prince Ruperts restaurant scene vibrant by way of Take Out

With another list of revisions to the Public Health Orders announced on Monday, the provincial restaurant industry has been handed another challenge from a year of challenges, with dining in currently not allowed as part of the roll out of measures this week.

The new measures listed by Doctor Bonnie Henry on Monday however do allow for dining on patios or by way of take out. 

And to help remind residents of the North Coast of that allowance, the Prince Rupert/Port Edward Chamber of Commerce has taken to its Social Media page to urge residents to keep local dining options in their meal planning sharing some of their favourite stops as they prepare to take advantage of the varied menus found in town by way of Take Out.

Prince Rupert Mayor Lee Brain has also gotten behind the campaign to create awareness of local restaurants and the need to step up to help them out. Using his Civic Facebook page to share the word and also to ask residents to share their favourite dining spots with the community.

More notes related to the Prince Rupert and area business community can be found from our archive page here.

  

March 22nd flight from Terrace-Vancouver listed for COVID Advisory

A Spring Break flight out of the Terrace-Kitimat Airport has been flagged by the BC CDC as a potential COVID exposure situation, with Air Canada flight 8239 originating from Terrace on March 22nd destined for Vancouver marked for attention with rows 4-10 note from the advisory.

On the COVDID alert page, the BC CDC advises that Passengers on a domestic flight with a COVID-19 case should self monitor for symptoms for 14 days.

The BC CDC also offers up some advice on Self-Isolation protocols, as well as Self Assessment support and tools.

You can review the full list of  BC CDC aviation advisories here.

More notes on air travel in the Northwest can be reviewed here.

For the latest on the provincial response to COVID-19 see our archive page here.

Circuit breakers on; Case Counts remain high for BC COVID report

As British Columbians give some thought to the list of changes and new measures put in place on Monday towards the rising pace of COVID-19 cases, the virus once again sent word that it's not going anywhere just yet, with another day of new cases to match much of the last few weeks across the province.

And once again, the focus for review is found in two areas of the Lower Mainland where well more than two thirds of the cases of the day can be found.

Today's notes, by way of a statement from Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minster Adrian Dix also reviewed the factors that led to yesterdays 'circuit breakers'.

“Today, we are reporting 840 new cases, including 18 epi-linked cases, for a total of 99,035 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 7,062 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 11,164 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. A further 90,401 people who tested positive have recovered. 

Of the active cases, 312 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 78 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

 There have been no new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,455 deaths in British Columbia."

Across the province, the regional health authority's broke the totals down as follows:

265 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 421 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 39 in the Island Health region, 67 in the Interior Health region, 

There were 46 new cases reported  in the Northern Health region, which brings the total number of  Northern BC cases of COVID to 5,944 to date since January of 2020.

Two new cases of COVID were reported for people in British Columbia who reside outside of Canada. 

Looking at the notes on variants, health officials note that there have been 320 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province, for a total of 2,553 cases. Of the total cases, 313 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 2,134 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 49 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 370 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant.

Towards the province's vaccination plan, the numbers  to date included, 724,193 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,319 of which are second doses. 

Doctor Henry also had some notes related to the plan ahead for the AstraZeneca vaccine, how it will be administered and where to go for more information if you have concerns related to it.

“The use of the AstraZeneca/COVISHIELD vaccine for those under 55 has been paused. If you are under 55, have received this vaccine and have questions about the signs and symptoms of this rare safety signal, visit the BC Centre for Disease Control 

And with the current surge in mind and the Easter period ahead of us, some thoughts from the health officials on the next few weeks in the province.

“We have seen the start of exponential growth of COVID-19 cases. To stop this upward trend from continuing, we are taking the necessary steps to protect our communities and get back on the path we want and need to be on. 

We are asking people for your help – particularly over the next three weeks – to push our curve back down again. This means staying small, staying outside and staying with our same group of close contacts. 

This also means not travelling for leisure or vacation outside of our local communities or regions because the risk for all of us is too great right now. 

We understand that the upcoming important religious holidays are often a time when we would normally get together with others to celebrate. This year, we need to ensure we are celebrating safely, which means not travelling to other communities and postponing those family dinners until it is safe to be together indoors again. 

As this pandemic continues, we join faith congregations around the globe in celebrating these important holidays in a different way this year so we will all still be here when we can finally safely come together again."

 Further notes on  Tuesday's  report can be reviewed here.   

BC CDC Data for BC For March 30 2021

BC CDC Data for Northern Health For March 30 2021

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable 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.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

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

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed 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

 

 

Up, Up, Up go the Prince Rupert gas prices

A bit of some shock at the pump today for those filling up their vehicles at most of the city's gas stations, with the price at the pump now marked at 1.41.9 per litre at three of the four options for a fill up in the community.

When we last filled up the North Coast Review News Cruiser late last week, the price was a more familiar 1.27.9/L still high but not a 'What the heck kind' of high.

Today, those days seem like the bargain days, with the roll call of Prince Rupert gas bars at 1.41 as follows:

There is one bargain to be found as of this afternoon with the Petro Can location in the Industrial park listing a price at the pump of 1.29/L ... for now!

With the spike for most stations, Prince Rupert seemingly leads the Northwest at price at the pump.

A quick scan of the Gas Buddy Website shows the following: 

Burns Lake 1.31 per litre

Kitimat 1.32 to 1.35 per litre

Smithers 1.33 to 1.34 per litre

Terrace. 1.34 to 1.35 per litre

While a spike for Prince Rupert is eye-catching, compared to Haida Gwaii we're bargain basement pricing.

Masset has a price at the pump of 162.5 per litre 

There's no explanation to be found province wide as of yet to explain for the fluctuation in recent days, though the Gas Buddy researchers have been watching the oil markets and offer up this bit of North American research for us.

“After the feverish rise in gas prices to start the year, increases have largely tapered off and we’re now seeing decreasing prices in most areas of the country, thanks to oil prices that have moderated for the time being. As the Suez Canal has remained blocked for nearly a week, we could see some volatility in the price of oil this week as the market digests any updates as hundreds of ships remain in limbo. Back stateside, refiners have made the switch to summer gasoline and price impacts have been limited thus far, but demand for gasoline remains strong. Last week saw total gasoline demand at yet another pandemic high according to GasBuddy data. As we approach warmer weather and motorists are increasingly getting outside, it could drive prices higher, so long as COVID-19 cases don’t jump along with it and lead to new travel restrictions.” -- Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for GasBuddy. 

More notes on commercial themes can be explored here.

City's latest job op set to assist Operations as more infrastructure programs get underway

The City of Prince Rupert is on the hunt for an Engineering Technologist, a rather specialized trade which will offer support to the city's Operations Department.

The job posting now available on the City's online listings seeks out applicants who will take on responsibility for a number of duties many of them focused on the city's ongoing work on public infrastructure and capital spending projects.

The position features some physical demands, technical training and the ability to communicate with the public in a courteous  and professional manner.

The deadline to apply for the position is April 16th.

The city's notice can be examined here.

A look at some of those infrastructure plans underway or in the planning stage can be reviewed here.

Some of the past City employment opportunities can be explored here.

$720 thousand destined for Prince Rupert Airport as part of roll out of provincial funding announcement today

YPR is to receive some additional provincial money towards
operations through to 2022

The British Columbia government has some welcome news for airports across the Northwest today, with an additional funding  be delivered to a number of airports in Northern BC.

“This funding will help ensure that people in our community continue to have access to essential transportation services. It is important that people can continue to travel for essential purposes in a safe and reliable way." -- North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice

The funding is part of a wider announcement related to both ground and air transportation in the province.

On the list for the funding boost  is the Digby Island Airport in Prince Rupert,  set to receive 720,000 fro the program. 

That is part of the $16.5 million allocated to BC airports in one time funding as part of the announcement today, it will be used for for support operations to between April 1, 2021, and March 31, 2022..

It will be a timely injection of cash for the Prince Rupert facility which has been hit particularly hard during COVID as scheduled service was suspended in January. 

A return to the Prince Rupert connection to Vancouver set for this June.

Also sharing in the funding from today is the Terrace/Kitimat Airport, the Smithers Airport as well as a number of other airports across the Northern region.

You can review the full announcement here.

More notes on aviation across the Northwest and Haida Gwaii can be reviewed here.

BC Government funding announcement brings an addtional 700K to Waterfront project in Prince Rupert

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice shared some news on Monday on funding for the proposed shift of the Digby Island Ferry dock from Fairview Bay to a more central location near the city centre. 

All part of an ambitious  redevelopment plan for the Kwinitsa Station area of the Prince Rupert Waterfront which will also see the creation of a new marina for the community..

As part of some tourism related funding, Ms. Rice relayed the government's plans through her Social Media feed locally noting of 700 thousand dollars in funding towards the project first announced back in 2019 as part of the Prince Rupert 2030 vision plan reveal.

In an email to the North Coast Review, Ms. Rice confirmed that this is additional funding, to go with the one million dollars toward the project announced in February.

"The earlier grant for the Rural Economic Recovery stream of the Community Economic Recovery Infrastructure Program comes from FLNRO while yesterday’s announcement is the Tourism Dependent Communities Initiative from Tourism." -- North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice

Yesterday's update, brings the total provincial investment to date into the project to 1.7 million dollars.

The  full release of all the tourism related funding, including funding for the Perimeter Trail reconstruction and highway pedestrian crossing in Smithers, can be examined here.

The proposed Rupert's Landing (until a name change is decided upon) development will also see a renovation of the old CN Rail station as a project separate from the Marina/Ferry Dock work, the latter of which is to take place in partnership with the Gitxaala First Nation.

The project is just one of a number of proposals from the Vision 2030 session of a few years ago, we've tracked the progress of some of those now underway here.

More notes from the MLA's work at the Legislature can be reviewed from our archive.

Metlakatla to host Workshop on Traditional Foods and Gardening on Wednesday

Members of the Metlakatla First Nation will be taking part in an online workshop tomorrow, exploring some of the options ahead for gardening season when it comes to Traditional Foods.

Hosted by Fanny Nelson and Braden Etzerza, the one hour workshop is the second of a series of events to share knowledge on a range of the themes as part of Metlaktatla's Culture, Language and Heritage series.

Open to all members of the Metlakatla First Nation, the event gets underway at 630 tomorrow night through a Zoom session until 730 PM.

To register for the event follow the instructions from this Zoom Link

You can contact Shaun Thomas for more information at sthomas@metlakatla.ca

More workshops in the series are planned in the months ahead, you can learn more about what's coming up through the Metlakatla Facebook page.

Further notes on items of interest from Metlakatla can be explored here.

With more favourable weather for cycling ahead, a new option for cyclists at the Atlin Terminal

One of two locations for cyclists in Prince Rupert
to lock up their bikes to explore the Cow Bay/Waterfront area

Just in time for what we all hope will be sunnier days and warmer weather, the Prince Rupert Port Authority has made ready a place to lodge your bike while you explore the sights around the Atlin Terminal and Cow Bay Area.

Maintenance crews have been busy putting in place bike racks in the area directly adjacent to the Atlin Terminal with two locations available for cyclists; one as part of the public gazebo space across from the Terminal, the other at the western end of the Terminal just down the hill from the Wheelhouse Brewing Company.

Monika Côte, the Manager of Corporate Communications with the Prince Rupert Port Authority outlined how the planning for the bike racks came together.

The bike racks were installed to address safety concerns at the entrance/exit of the parking lot. The City of Prince Rupert was kind enough to allow PRPA to install the bike racks in the area near the parking lot exit to improve visibility.

The location makes for a midway point for those who like to transit the pathways between the Kwinitsa Station area and points to the east along George Hills Way towards Rushbrook Floats.

More items of interest related to the Port can be reviewed from our archive page here.

New public orders bring pause to Recreation Centre programs

With Doctor Bonnie Henry announcing some additional COVID measures on recreation activities for the next three weeks, the City of Prince Rupert's Recreation Centre has announced a pause to a number of programs run out of the Jim Ciccone complex.

The programs which will be on hiatus until April 20th include:

Junior Badminton
Deep Water Aquafit
Shallow Water Aquafit
Nifty Fifites Walking Club

The relay of information was made through the City's social media feeds.

To find out more about programs run through the Civic Centre or Earl May Aquatic Centre call them at 250-624-9000 or follow their social media page

More notes of Civic themes can be reviewed from our archive page.

Rising curve of COVID detailed in weekend results, a push which is closing in on 100,000 cases since January 2020

A  surge of cases for review from the weekend, a press conference with the Premier in attendance and a range of new measures to address concerning times all made for some of the narrative to today's COVID-19 update.

In addition to the measures introduced or reinforced for the next three weeks, Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix also provide for the regular data release for Monday afternoon.

“Today, we are reporting three periods: from March 26 to 27, we had 936 new cases; from March 27 to 28, we had 805 new cases and in the last 24 hours, we had a further 777 new cases. 

This results in a total of 2,518 new cases, and a total of 98,195 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 6,902 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 10,377 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. 

A further 89,722 people who tested positive have recovered. 

Of the active cases, 299 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 79 of whom are in intensive care. 

The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.  

There have been six new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,455 deaths in British Columbia."

Across British Columbian the weekend totals from each Health Authority were as follows: 816 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,280 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 142 in the Island Health region, 156 in the Interior Health region, 

There were 121 new cases of COVID recorded  in the Northern Health region, that brings the Northern Region total to 5,898 since January of 2020. 

Three new cases of COVID-19 were listed in BC from  people who reside outside of Canada. 

Variants remain a concern in the province and with today's notes there have been 321 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province, for a total of 2,233 cases. 

Of the total cases, 413 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 1,915 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 48 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 270 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant. 

The vaccine rollout continues on, though with some new guidelines to come for the AstraZeneca vaccine distribution.  To date, 699,092 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,289 of which are second doses.

Three new outbreaks of COVID were announced for health care facilities in the province, including COVID cases for four patients at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital.

As we outlined earlier today, Premier John Horgan, Public Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minster Adrian Dix hosted an afternoon press conference, with the Doctor Henry releasing some noted on addition measures to be put in place in the province as the response to ongoing surge of COVID in British Columbia.

Those themes were addressed as part of today's wrap up on the data release as well.

“In the last few days, we have seen the start of exponential growth in new cases, hospitalizations and more people requiring critical care support. 

A circuit breaker is now required to break the chains of transmission in our province and allow us to safely move forward. “Gathering indoors is too a great of a risk for us right now. 

As a result, for the next three weeks, from midnight tonight through to April 19, 2021, the provincial health officer's orders have been amended.

Further notes on  Monday's  report can be reviewed here.

BC CDC Data for BC For March 29 2021

BC CDC Data for Northern Health region For March 29 2021

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable 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.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

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

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed 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