Surge continues with 762 new cases, 10 more deaths on the day; prospects of additional measures to tackle COVID loom as early as Thursday

The rapid rise in cases of COVID reported in British Columbia continued today, with a new most cases in one day level met with the announcement of 762 cases recorded over the last 24 hours, along with an increase in hospitalizations and use of Intensive Care Units in BC

The update for Wednesday came by way of a written statement from Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.

“Today, we are reporting 762 new cases of COVID-19, including three epi-linked cases, for a total of 24,422 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 6,861 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Currently, 209 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 58 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

There are 9,871 people under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 16,914 people who tested positive have recovered. 

There have been 10 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 320 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Across the different Health Authorities the Wednesday totals were as follows: 210 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 481 in the Fraser Health region, 20 in the Island Health region, 38 in the Interior Health region, 13 in the Northern Health region, which moves the Northern Health total since January to 553 cases of COVID recorded.

No new cases of COVID were reported over the last 24 hours from  people who reside outside of Canada.

With the Second surge continuing on with its rapid pace, Dr. Henry and Minister Dix reinforced the message that there is a need to slow the rise of the curve down, something which will require commitment from everyone in the province. 

“We have seen a rising number of new cases of COVID-19 across the province and we need to slow this down. We need to put the brakes on the virus and doing this requires a sustained effort by all of us. 

This second surge is putting a strain on our health-care system, our workplaces and us all. We need to ease this pressure so we can continue to manage the virus in our province and also continue to do the many activities that are important to us. 

While your personal efforts may seem small or having little impact, the collective benefit to every community in every region is significant. Our safety layers are there to help protect us and they work best when we are all using them, all of the time. 

Now is the time to stay small, stay local and do your part – at home, work, school and in your community.”

 You can review the Wednesday COVID update here. 

Todays information statement sets the stage for what is expected to be some significant announcements from Dr Henry and Adrian Dix, those are expected to be delivered when they hold the next live briefing set for Thursday afternoon.

Earlier today, Premier John Horgan offered up some thoughts on the current state of the COVID situation and telegraphed some of the potential measures that may be coming to the province in the course of the next 24 hours.

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 

3.9 magnitude Quake recorded off west coast of Haida Gwaii

The Pacific fault line shuddered a bit off the western coast of Haida Gwaii this afternoon, with a 3.9 magnitude quake recorded 30 miles NW of Sandspit at 2:24 PM

That places the epicentre 221 kilometres to the west of Prince Rupert.

The original listing of the seismic event was 4.1 but was quickly downgraded by the USGS.

There was no Tsunami warning generated by today's event

Some of the recent quakes recorded along the southern 
Alaskan coastline in the Gulf of Alaska

The fault line running along the Pacific coast has been particularly active in Alaska in recent days, with a number of quakes recorded in a number of locations.

More notes on previous seismic events can be explored from our archive page.

Ice In, Markings on ... Curling Season set to go

It wasn't too long ago that it looked pretty dire for the Prince Rupert Curling Club, the need for a new ice making machine making for a lost season for the roaring game on the North Coast and fears for some that the sport may fade from the local scene.

One year later and even in the midst of a pandemic and things however look much better for the members of the Prince Rupert Curling Club. With much of the positive view coming from the tireless efforts of their membership led by Natasha Lebedick and a bit of good fortune in success in seeking out some grant funding.

As we outlined in September, the new ice plant was put in place over the summer, with a work party taking to the newly installed sheets earlier this month to put in place the familiar rings of the House, the latest signal that curling is back and the curlers almost ready to throw some rocks.

The success towards putting i the new ice coming through a 250,000 dollar grant from Northern Development Initiative Trust delivered in March, which brought much in the way of relief for the local curling community.

A work party earlier this month puts in place the
familiar on ice rings of the PRCC 

The new season comes with a number of additional measures to reflect our current concerns over COVID, requiring the creation of a Return to Curl Plan which was outlined for members in October.

Registration for the 2020 season got underway earlier this month and if you would like to see if space is available for your group to join the 100 or so members that call the club home contact Natasha  at 250-600-1972.

League games take place on Wednesdays and Fridays at the Seal Cove facility.

Plans were for the first of the years action to get underway this week, you can follow their action through the year from their facebook page.

For more notes on Curling in the Northwest see our archive page here.    

Curling on the North Coast 20-21

Our Archive of items and developments on the Curling scene in the Northwest


Prince Rupert Curling Club Facebook page

Return To Curl Plan 

Archive of notes for 2020-21



January

January 25 -- COVID cancels out Curling in Prince Rupert for rest of season   NCR

November

November 18 -- Ice In, Markings  on ... Curling Season set to go  NCR

September 

September 3 -- Curling Club renovation progress moving well as 2020 season gets closer  NCR

July

July 16 -- Curl BC Survey seeks input from curlers on plans for 2020-21 season  NCR




Archive of past years

2019-20
2018-2019
2017-2018
2016-2017
2015-2016
2014-2015
2012-2014

Salvation Army's 2020 Kettle campaign will be a bit different, including a virtual option

The familiar sight of the Christmas kettles may be a little less visible this holiday season, with COVID making for a challenging period for the Prince Rupert Salvation Army. 

The recent concerns over spiking levels in BC arriving just as the organization prepares to launch their 2020 fundraising program.

This year, the locations for the kettles in Prince Rupert have been pared down significantly, with a bare bones roster of those currently available to help his season.  

With that in mind, a reminder that the organization is always on the look out for volunteers to help out over the next month. 

You can contact the Salvation Army at 250-624-6180 if you can share some of your time with their efforts this year.

And while the virus may be changing how they approach their work, the need in the community may never have been greater, with more and more residents of the region making use of the support programs offered by the local Salvation Army.

This year, if you wish, you can donate to their work through the Virtual Kettle, an online project that should help in the campaign for 2020, to access the Virtual Kettle see the Salvation Army's link here.

The community goal for this season has been set for 30,000 dollars

In addition to their ongoing Food Bank program in the community, the Holiday season is also when the organization to distribute its annual Christmas Hamper program.

The registration dates for those looking to access the hampers this year just ended, with the organization providing details to those who contacted them as to when the hampers will be ready for pick up. 

A good portion of the success of the program through the years, has been through the support of the community, whether local industry and businesses, individuals or collective efforts like the recent Harley Riders travels of late September, as well as the Thanksgiving Food Drive which also took place that month.

You can keep up with the activities and programs from the Salvation Army through their Facebook page.

For more Community Notes from the Northwest see our archive here.

Premier Horgan telegraphs prospect of stronger COVID measures ahead and plans for next session of Legislature as part of media briefing Wednesday

Premier Horgan took a number
of COVID related questions
at a media briefing today

With COVID numbers continuing to rise across the province, Premier John Horgan spoke to what may lay ahead for British Columbians, noting that these are challenging times and how British Columbians cannot lose their resolve after their efforts of the past.

Noting that he had been briefed by Dr. Henry and Minister Dix earlier in the day,  he observed that they will have more to say on how to control the spread of the virus on Thursday.

From his perspective the largest issue has been large social gatherings and other activities which he noted has provided for much of the current surge of cases, particularly in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal Health regions.

"Suffice it to say that the regional orders that were brought in on November 9th need to be able to take hold, that means we need to ensure that the clusters that we're seeing as case loads go up from social gatherings are reduced as much as possible." 

Mr. Horgan outlined some of the other actions that the province has taken as part of its COVID response and spoke to the topic of travel at this time, observing towards the current situation that is in place in the province. 

"When it comes to travel, non-essential travel is prohibited in British Columbia and it will remain that way for the next two weeks at least. I'm going to reach out to the Prime Minister we have been working collaboratively for months now ... but I want to say today, that we need a pan Canadian approach to travel. We need to make sure that people living in Coquitlam are living under the same rules as people in Chicoutimi. We need to  make sure that those who want to come to British Columbia must only do so if it's essential for their business or their well being. Beyond that we need to stay in our tight social circles"

The topic of regional travel bans from certain regions also came up in the Q & A session, with the Premier holding to his preference to advise that it's not the time for travel.

"I'm not suggesting that we put in restrictions beyond saying the obvious; which is if you don't need to travel, don't travel. This is not the time to go storm watching on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, this is not the time to plan for a large gathering of friends over the Christmas holiday. We need to focus on getting through the winter, getting through this second wave which is proving to be significantly challenging"

Towards education, the Premier appears to be holding true to the current course of keeping the schools open, noting how the Government has responded to some of the concerns relayed in recent weeks, noting the use of troubleshooters in the K-12 system to respond to changing circumstances in the classrooms.

Mr. Horgan also outlined the approach the province is taking to adjust to new information on the virus and how they adjust to those changing situations.

"As new information comes available, as the science dictates we will pivot and amend our plans. And that is appropriate, I think British Columbians expect that and we're doing our level best to meet the expectations of keeping people safe, keeping our economy open and not using restrictions in a heavy handed way, but using restrictions in a way that are protecting public health and protecting our loved ones"

The Premier also outlined the path ahead for his new government which was elected in October, noting that he will have a cabinet put in place by next week, the members sworn in to their duties on November 26th, with the members taking their seats virtually. 

That bit of business will be followed with a short session of the Legislature to be called on December 7th with a brief Throne Speech which will focus on the challenges of COVID 19.

When it comes to the short  government session ahead, the Premier outlined that some of the focus would be the ongoing financial response that the province has taken in the previous months as a response to the virus; with hopes of the $500 or $1,000 COVID cheques which were promised during the election campaign, still a possibility to be deposited for British Columbians before the Christmas period.

You can review the Premier's full address and Q and A session from the video below:

For more notes related to Provincial Government themes see our archive page here.

COVID exposure and appointments for positions make for SD52 notes from November meeting

School District 52 hosted their November Board meeting last week with the Trustees tackling a range of items, with a report of COVID in the school system at the top of their list for the session.

In an update on their November meeting the Board of Education provided some background on the late October announcement of a positive tested case of COVID for a member of the school community at École Roosevelt Park Community School. 

In their notes for the meeting, the District noted that they worked with and followed the guidance of Northern Health and the Medical Health Officer as part of the process related to the positive case. 

The Trustees observed how it has now been over two weeks since the date of the positive test and reassured the community that the schools continue to implement strict protocols and procedures to ensure that students and staff can continue to attend school as safely as possible.  

More background on that exposure is available from the SD52 website.

The Roosevelt Park exposure has been the only one listed for SD52, you can access the updated listings for all Northern Health region School exposures here.

As part of the November meeting, the Trustees also received a report on the School Start Up for Conrad Elementary, with Principal Kerri Levelton and Vice-Principal Tania Murray providing some background on how this year has differed from those of the past.

Students are currently working in a cohort system, with divided recess and lunch breaks and much in the way of visual reminders towards COVID awareness and lots of hand washing. Each class has a designated entrance and exit, with the school also using multiple methods to keep in contact with parents and guardians.

School District Board Chair James Horne made note of the School's participation in the Downey and Wenjack Fund's legacy school project and called attention to the students placement of memorial rocks along the Rushbrook Trail area.

 “We hope everyone will enjoy the memorial rocks students have placed on the Rushbrook trail.”

As part of the November session, the School District divided up their work load for a range of School Liaison positions and other Committee and Council memberships.

You can review the full list of who has been assigned what duties from this information statement from the District for November.

One final note came out of the November meeting, that of a reminder of tomorrow night's Virtual Town Hall co hosted by the District and Northern Health. The topic for the night will be the COVID Response at the School District, with parents, guardians and staff representatives having already taken advantage of the opportunity to submit questions.

Yesterday we made note of the contribution to the night from the PRDTU, the teachers' union has submitted a list of eight questions relaying some of the concerns and comments from the local membership.

The Virtual Town Hall takes place from 5 to 6 tomorrow night, Thursday, November 19th. 

You can find out how to view the session from a link to be provided on the SD52 website tomorrow.

For more notes related to education across the Northwest see our archive page here.