Masks On! And other measures come to British Columbia, as Dr. Bonnie Henry delivers a range of new Health Orders and advisories

 

The Province of British Columbia's Public Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry has increased the number of measures for every community as of today; including a long called for measure to put in place an order for mask wearing in all public spaces, including retail stores, shopping malls and other commercial enterprises.

In a move that may yet prove to be contentious, the mask requirement did not include the province's schools as part of the order to this point.

Dr. Henry also outlined a list of other measures and orders now in place for the the next two weeks as the province looks to knock down the growing number of cases of COVID-19 that have been recorded in the last six weeks.

Many of them build on the orders and measures put in place on the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health regions earlier this month, with a call for the end of social gatherings and events, and a reduction of travel to just those who must leave their home area for work or medical reasons.

Athletic activities have also seen some changes, key among them the suspension of high risk activities and a ban on any travel outside of the local region. 

As well spectators continue to be banned from any sports activity under the order.

More background on all of the orders and measures put in place today can be found from British Columbia Governments PHO page.

They go into effect as of midnight tonight and will remain in place until at least December 7th.

The moves announced today came as the province actually recorded a decline in the level of recent case reports, with today's COVID report showing a drop of 224 from the record setting level of 762 relayed on Wednesday.

“Today, we are reporting 538 new cases of COVID-19, including nine epi-linked cases, for a total of 24,960 cases in British Columbia.   

There are 6,929 active cases of COVID-19 in the province. Currently, 217 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 59 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

There are 9,977 people under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 17,207 people who tested positive have recovered. 

There has been one new COVID-19 related death, for a total of 321 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Across the province, the health authorities outlined the following totals for the day: 178 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 309 in the Fraser Health region, 12 in the Island Health region, 28 in the Interior Health region, 11 in the Northern Health region, making for a total of 564 cases since January.

The Northern Health region also reported a significant outbreak at the LNG Canada worksite in Kitimat, with 14 confirmed cases and a number of other worker and their contacts self isolating on site or in their home communities.

No new cases of COVID were reported for people who reside outside of Canada.

“The coming weeks will be the most difficult in our pandemic, but hope is on the horizon. We can protect the ones we love and keep our hospitals, schools and workplaces open if we remain focused on reducing our in-person interactions for now. 

To support the continued safe operation of schools, the provincial health officer has created a rapid response team that will identify and manage exposures and outbreaks in Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health region schools, and enhance communication with school communities. 

To support comprehensive workplace COVID-19 safety plans, active inspections will be increased across the province. Businesses that do not comply will be subject to fines and/or ordered to close. Environmental health officers will focus on workplaces in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions to ensure full compliance and enable rapid response and action. 

As we approach the winter solstice, the darkest day of the year, we should remind each other that it is also the day that we begin to turn back toward the light. By pulling together now we can overcome the challenges before us.”

You can review today's full COVID-19 statement here.

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 

COVID-19 outbreak declared at LNG Canada site in Kitimat

The total for reported cases of COVID-19 will take a significant jump in the Northwest today, with Northern Health outlining the details behind the declaration of a COVID-19 outbreak at the LNG Canada project worksite in Kitimat.

In an Information Bulletin released today, Northern Health notes:

To date, 14 employees have tested positive for COVID-19. All of these cases are considered to be associated with this outbreak and occurred in the same general work location. Specific on-site employees are being screened. Contact management and tracing have gone well, and will continue. 

Those identified as cases and close contacts have been instructed to self-isolate. Thirty-two employees remain in selfisolation at the site, and the rest are isolating in their home community. 

Northern Health, LNG Canada, and JGC Fluor have been working together on planning, preparing and implementing COVID-19 measures since early spring and continue to work closely to ensure enhanced control measures are followed, to protect the health of all staff.

The outbreak declaration will remain in place for at least the next 28 days.

You can review the full Northern Health Statement here.

The word of the outbreak comes as Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix prepare for a much anticipated presentation today, with indications that a number of public health measures will be put in place to assist in the response to recent increase in COVID-19 reports over the last month.

That presentation will be streamed live across the province from the BC Government Facebook page, it's expected to take place shortly after 3PM

For some of the past notes on the Coroanvirus in BC and the Northwest see our archive page here.

2021 edition of the Prince Rupert Chamber's Rising Stars program opens the application period

The call for applicants has been issued as the Prince Rupert and District Chamber prepares for another year of mentoring under their highly successful Rising Stars program an initiative which has been in place for fifteen years, developing young adults into community leaders and entrepreneurs . 

The program matches students from Coast Mountain College and Charles Hays Secondary School with members of the Prince Rupert business community for a five-month long mentorship.

The 2021 program is being coordinated by Rising Stars alumnus, Aidan Murphy-Morven.

He previously participated as a student in the program that under the mentorship of Alexie Stephens of the North Coast Innovation Lab.

“I am excited to carry on the standard of leadership and innovation that were demonstrated by last year’s coordinator Scott Langille. We have already recruited outstanding mentors for this year, and I know that as they develop professional experience and skills they’ll come to appreciate the spirit of mutual support that characterizes Prince Rupert’s business community.” -- Aidan Murphy-Morven

Towards recruitment for the Class of 2021 which is now underway the process looks like this: Students will find application details online here.

Those with an interest in the program must have their submissions in by midnight on November 30. 

Candidates will be interviewed by Mr. Murphy-Morven and members of the program’s steering committee to select the six participants for this years intake.

As for the program, our times of COVID have required a bit of fine tuning from previous years, with a focus that will be primarily that of online collaboration. 

However, the 2021 program elements will also encompass public speaking training, development of post-secondary education strategies, guidance on professional business communication and branding, as well as the opportunity to collaborate on a major passion project. 

Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce President Michelle Bommars-MacNeil observed on the past success of the program and the opportunities it offers local youth in the community

“We are proud of Aidan and all of the Rising Stars graduates. The program he has designed this year in conjunction with our Chamber team will be both challenging and rewarding. There’s no better way for business-minded students in Northwest BC to gain real-world skills and insights.”

The Rising Stars of 2020 have made way for a new
group of participants in the Chambers popular youth program
(From 2020: Royce Sampson, Andy Chugh, Brendan Eshom,
Aidan-Murphy Morven and Carsen Vibert) 

The success of the Rising Stars project is through the partnerships that the Chamber has built in the community both with local educators and business leaders.

Something which they make note of early on in their information page that highlights the many elements of the successful program.

Rising Stars is a collaborative initiative from the ground up. The Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce works closely with Coast Mountain College and Charles Hays Secondary School to administer the program. 

Meanwhile, dozens of businesses in Prince Rupert have invested time and capital in the participants' experience — both as mentors and sponsors. Rising Stars is widely-recognized in the community as an effective way for students to build their professional network.

You can learn more about the program and how you could become a sponsor or a mentor from the rising stars home page.

For more notes on the Northwest business scene see our archive page here.

As the snow begins to stick, Shames Mountain prepares for a most unusual season ahead

It won't be too much longer before the runs of Shames 
Mountain are open for the 2020-21 ski season

As we move closer to the heart of the winter months, the closest ski area to Prince Rupert is making its plans for a start to the ski season, with Shames Mountain near Terrace recently outlining its COVID response plan, relaying the extensive measures that they will have in place for a ski season in a pandemic.

The document, which you can review here, provides a look into a number of areas including access to the Mountain, Riding the Lifts, how the Rental Shop, Snow School Retail and Ticket sales will work. 

Also covered in the review is how on Mountain Dining will take place and what the Enhanced Safety protocols are.

Some of the elements that have in place will be the need for Face Coverings in all indoor spaces, base area, lift lines and while riding the lifts. The suspension of the Shames Express weekend shuttle this winter, contact tracing requirements, dedication towards Social Distancing and restrictions on access to the lodge in order to control the volume of traffic into the facility.

Towards the actual skiing Shames has a number of Season and Day Pass options for you to explore you can find which one fits your best needs here.

This season, as part of their efforts to increase the participation of Indigenous residents of the Northwest, Shames is offering an Adventure Pass for Indigenous People that provides for some significant opportunities to test out the sport.

The off season has seen a number of improvements take place at the Shames site, which will add to the Shames experience for 2020-21. 

As well,  some help towards this ski season was provided through some fundraising from Northern Savings Credit Union, which has provided 5,000 dollars to the Shames Mountain Ski and Snowboard Club, the donation will be put into support for their clubhouse move and to support COVID compliance. 

If the weather Gods approve, the officials at Shames hope to host opening Day on December 5th

You can learn more about the season ahead from the Shames website and Facebook page

For more notes related to Skiing in the Northwest see our archive page.

Despite challenges of a pandemic, Prince Rupert's Dai Fukasaku remains quite optimistic for the future

Prince Rupert's Dai Fukasaku has some big
plans in motion for his local restaurant and brand
(From Fukasaku FB page)

One sector of the local economy that has seen a significant impact from the COVID-19 pandemic has been the hospitality sector, with local restaurants having to take some extensive measures to keep their establishments moving forward in these last number of months.

And yet despite what must be some extremely challenging times, Daisuke Fukasaku, owner of Fukasaku of Prince Rupert remains optimistic on the future, that as he celebrates his seventh year of operation for his popular restaurant.

He has been exploring some thoughts on those seven years this fall, by sharing his enthusiasm among some of his fellow business owners around town, with a 7th anniversary giveaway towards those local establishments that have helped him on his journey in the city.

Sharing in his success ... Dai Fukasaku has
saluted those who have helped him on his
seven year journey with a promotion in 
celebration of his Atlin Terminal restaurant
(From Fukasaku FB page)

The list of those he is saluting and sending a bit of business towards through a gift certificate campaign includes:

The Argosy, Maverick Foods, Rupert Lawn and Garden, Wheelhouse Brewing Company, Javadotcup, Mission Health and Wellness, Cowpuccino's Coffee House

The shared celebration for his seventh anniversary is being well received on the Fukasaku Facebook page, where you can learn more about his positive vibes on the local scene and plans for the future.

Towards those plans, his faithful patrons will soon be dining in new digs; with Mr. Fukasaku outlining the vision ahead for his resiliency plan, which will include a move to a larger space in the Atlin Terminal. 

New space for Fukasaku, work continues towards a new
location in the Atlin Terminal for the popular restaurant
(From Fukasaku FB page)

The increased space will allow for a 12 seating restaurant and community marketplace where you can source out locally harvested seafood, produce, honey, salt and much more.

No date has been set for the opening of the new space and all of its impressive options, though once the doors swing open, it's probably safe to say that Prince Rupert residents will reward the proprietor for his steadfast support of the community and his enthusiastic vision for the future.

For a look at more notes on the city's commercial sector see our archive page.

With Winter Driving season here, Councillor Cunningham returns to familiar concerns over state of Health Services in Prince Rupert

Winter Driving season has once again brought out the 
concerns for medical related travel for Prince Rupert residents

Some recent winter weather has served to bring one Prince Rupert City Councillor's most important topics back to the top of the discussion list this month. 

With Councillor Barry Cunningham once again exploring his concerns over the dwindling level of health care services locally, an evolving situation that now require Prince Rupert residents to travel the Highway 16 corridor to seek out some medical attention.

The councillor returned to what is an ongoing theme for him earlier this month with a Facebook post, spurred on by his travels along Highway 16 around Remembrance Day.

As he notes in his social media post, he has raised the topic of health care often in the past, though results it seems have been hard to achieve from those many expressions of concern.

Much of City Council's focus on health this year was related to COVID measures and how they and the province disagreed on how the COVID response was taken in Prince Rupert. 

A period of time where the Mayor and his council seemed to withdraw from the debate on a number of themes,  instructing residents to  direct all their conversation towards a range of issues to the MLA and the provincial government.

Last year however, in the pre COVID days, the larger issue of health care in Prince Rupert did make for some discussion.

November 2019 -- Councillor Cunningham calls for collective approach to securing health care in Prince Rupert
May 2019 -- Cunningham calls for watchful eye on Terrace hospital developments 
November 2018 -- Councillor Cunningham looks to keep North Coast issues on health high on the agenda for Northern Health and the Minister
February 2018 -- With Mills Memorial Announcement, North Coast Officials will need to remain watchful on local health services
February 2017 -- Councillor Cunningham raises concerns over potential health service losses should the status of Terrace hospital change

Interestingly enough the topic of the need for more health care in Prince Rupert did not make for a large segment of the recent provincial election campaign, with little input on the topic provided by the city's elected officials during the six week campaign period.

Still, with North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice returned to office, the opportunity to invite her to Council to hear the concerns of Council and local residents is one option that they could take.

That would provide for an opportunity to go on the public record with their concerns and to hear from the MLA as to what measures she can take to ensure their issues are resonating with the Premier and his cabinet.

As well, they could use that same option of a Council appearance to invite the upper tier of management with Northern Health to Prince Rupert to speak to the issues of the state of health care locally.

With any luck, the Councillors comments may make their way to the Northern Health Prince Rupert focused Facebook page, where local residents raise a number of concerns that at least gain some acknowledgement from health officials from time to time.

Regardless, with three years and more behind us on the same topic, the time for some actual progress on the list of concerns and answers to the many questions would seem long overdue.

More background on health care in the region can be found from our archive page here.

As Challenging year for Tourism Prince Rupert nears an end, Today's Annual General Meeting set to review the year that was

The membership of Tourism Prince Rupert will gather virtually over the noon hour today, with a call to order for the Annual General Meeting for 2020 and a review of one of the most unusual years that the tourism sector has ever seen on the North Coast.

Along with a range of reports from the President, the Executive Director and Treasurer and the Election of Directors, much of the review for the day will be culled from the Tourism Prince Rupert Annual Report, which this year is framed very much by how the organization addressed the challenges that were delivered by a year long COVID-19 pandemic.

The twenty one page document explores the COVID response and recovery program that was put together as the future became pretty clear by Mid-March that 2020 would be like no year before it.

Though as they note in the introduction to the 2020 Report, building on local support and advocacy through this past year has positioned the organization  to maintain a positive outlook for the years ahead.

A strong focus on local support and advocacy, some regional marketing in the summer, participation in a number of shared regional strategies, the revitalization of our corporate brand assets, and finally, a renewed long-term planning process put in place for 2021, Tourism Prince Rupert’s staff & Board of Directors are confident that the local tourism sector remains resilient and the outlook for long-term growth continues to maintain a positive trajectory.

But before they turn the page on 2020, the review of the year that will soon come to an end provides for a glimpse into some of that resiliency that the membership has shown in the past and may still be required in the short term into the year ahead.

The year was framed by a number of decisions by government officials and tourism stakeholders that certainly provided for the strong impact on what had been hoped to be a strong year for the tourism industry.

Among the key decisions, the travel restrictions in place through the Spring and into the early summer which urged Canadians to stay local this year, the lack of a Cruise Ship Season which left the Northland Terminal a vacant building for the entire season and the closure of the North Pacific Cannery Historical Site in Port Edward for the year, leaving one of the top attractions in the Northwest shuttered for an entire season.

Among some of the measures that  Tourism Prince Rupert adopted as the pandemic began to change the focus for their original 2020 visitor plan were:

Official closure of the Visitor Information Centre
Freeze on the Tourism Prince Rupert Marketing Budget for 2020
Launch of a weekly COVID-19 email newsletter
Weekly updates on the outlook for the Tourism Sector in the region
Development of the Prince Rupert Small Business Task Force, that part of a partnership with the City of Prince Rupert and Chamber of Commerce
Success in a request of the City to waive patio permit fees
Advocating successfully for the refund of seasonal business licences for the sports fishing industry
Launch of the Small Business Sweepstakes Social Media campaign

The organization also engaged in a number of advocacy work efforts, seeking to ensure that the concerns of their members were heard by Municipal, provincial and Federal representatives.

The Annual Report also reviews the Resident Travel Sentiment Survey that was launched over the summer and some of the marketing initiatives that came following the Survey, including a look at the See For yourself campaign which kept the focus on tourism opportunities from communities within the Northwest.

A review of many of the other initiatives such as those designed to increase ferry traffic through the region, joint regional campaigns and coop marketing programs also makes for a substantial part of the document.

The key takeaway as to how the year went however does provide for some dramatic comparisons from 2019  to 2020's visitor count, with only 5,305 visitors stopping by the Atlin Terminal's Visitor Information Centre this season.

That drop a significant one from one year ago, when a Full Cruise season and unrestricted travel delivered close to 26,000 visitors to the Information Centre.

The hopeful look for the year ahead acknowledges that there is still a significant amount of uncertainty when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic and what course it may follow into 2021, with Tourism Prince Rupert like many of us awaiting word on the evolution of a vaccine program and delivery of it.

Until we return to a more normal time and more familiar opportunities for travel, Tourism Prince Rupert plans to continue to monitor the ongoing list of travel restrictions and recommendations from the provincial health authorities.

That's something that may arise as early as later today, with a much anticipated health briefing from Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, a briefing that is now widely expected to deliver some further travel restrictions in the face of surging levels of COVID in the province.

While they digest whatever announcement may come later in the afternoon, Tourism Prince Rupert's closing summation of their outlook for 2020, provides for the guiding declaration for their ongoing commitment towards addressing the challenges ahead.

Tourism Prince Rupert will continue to focus on long-term planning and supporting the resiliency of our local sector well into 2022. In late 2020, Tourism Prince Rupert’s Board of Directors began the process to renew our five-year Strategic Plan, which currently extends from 2016- 2021. Throughout 2021, we will look to long- term planning, including developing increased strategies for destination development, local business support and advocacy, and refreshed marketing strategies. 

In addition, we will continue to execute our annual marketing activities, carefully encouraging support of Prince Rupert’s tourism-reliant businesses in a way that is considerate of travel restrictions and recommendations put forward by the provincial health office.

You can access the full report, including the financial statements for the organization from the visitprincerupert website.

You can sit in on their Annual General Meeting this noon hour as it streams live through the Zoom Portal

To access today's presentations use this link

For more background on the Northwest tourism sector see our archive page here.