Case count of 4,040, 23 passings marks Easter Weekend totals of COVID in BC

Health Minister Adrian Dix and Public Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry put the wrap up on the weekend of COVID over the Easter period today, adding an additional 1,889 cases to the mid point review of Saturday, bringing the province wide total number of COVID cases over four days to 4,040. 

The Monday review, by way of a written statement, also relayed word of 23 deaths in the last 96 hours from the coronavirus, with two top health officials noting that the concerns over variant cases continue with 916 cases of the virus related to variants since April 1st.

“Today, we are reporting two periods: April 3 to 4, we had 999 cases, and in the last 24-hours, we had a further 890 cases for a two-day total of 1,889 new cases. 

These periods are in addition to April 1 to 2, when we reported 1,018 cases, and April 2 and 3, when we reported 1,072 cases. 

Those figures were provisional and have since been confirmed as 1,074 cases over April 1 to 2 and 1,077 cases over April 2 to 3. 

Combined, this results in a four-day case count of 4,040 new cases, for a total of 104,061 cases in British Columbia to date. 

There are 8,490 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 11,989 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. 

A further 94,806 people who tested positive have recovered. 

Of the active cases, 318 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 96 of whom are in intensive care. 

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

There have been 23 new COVID-19 related deaths since April 1, for a total of 1,486 deaths in British Columbia."

Across the province, the Regional Health Authorities reported the following results: 579 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 986 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 100 in the Island Health region, 129 in the Interior Health region.

There were  95 new cases reported in the Northern Health region which brings the total of number of cases in the North since January 2020 to 6,139. 

No new cases of COVID were noted for people in British Columbia who reside outside of Canada. 

With the variants review, the totals since April 1st provided the following results: 916 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province, for a total of 3,559 cases (588 are active). This includes 2,771 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 51 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 737 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant. 

As for the vaccination program roll out, to date, 893,590 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,472 of which are second doses.   

The message at the end of the long weekend, was much the same as it was at the start, one of caution to the spread of COVID, concerns over the variant increases and the need to remain on board with the range of measures currently in place.

“We know this virus is constantly changing and some of the new variants can spread more easily, but the same measures we know can still stop the spread and we have safe and effective vaccines on our side now. 

It is more important than ever to stay on track with our vaccination programs, continue to use all our layers of protection all the time and follow the provincial health orders and guidelines. 

If anyone in your family or household is feeling unwell, get tested and stay home from school or work. This is especially important for anyone who has been travelling in these past weeks, as transmission has increased. 

Now is not the time to bend the rules – it’s time for us to work together again to bend the curve. It’s not easy, but it’s the right thing to do for our loved ones, for our local businesses and for the communities we live in.”

The full statement for Monday can be reviewed here.

As it was Saturday, there is no BC CDC Data available for the weekend, with the next release of their daily dashboard items to come on Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 PM

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

 

Saturday's Provincial Statement notes of two days of 1,000 plus case reports of COVID

Such has been the pace of COVID-19 in the province, that BC health officials released a rare Saturday update on the latest case counts of the coronavirus, a report that delivered two days of 1,000 plus cases for start of the four day weekend.

The details from Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, stressed the need for British Columbians to remain close to their own communities to reduce the potential for spread of COVID, though as the weekend progressed those pleas seemed to not be ones resonating with a number of residents who took the weekend to explore.

“Today, we are reporting two periods: April 1 to 2, we had 1,018 cases, and in the last 24-hours, we had a further 1,072 cases, for a total of 2,090 new cases over two days and a total of 102,970 cases overall in British Columbia.  

Ninety British Columbians are in intensive care. 

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

Across the province, the case totals from each regional health authority look as follows: 709 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 1,052 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 147 in the Island Health region, 149 in the Interior Health region, 

There were 33 new cases of COVID in the Northern Health region, which brings the Northern region total to  6,076 since the coronavirus was first recorded in January of 2020.

There were no new cases of COVID reported bu people in BC, who reside outside of Canada.  

The statement also observed that some data are not available over the long weekend, including data on variants and hospitalizations

When it comes to the vaccination program in the province, to date, 856,801 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,455 of which are second doses.

With the rapid advance of COVID in recent weeks, the concerns over travel made for the closing themes of the weekend statement.

“An important reminder for everyone is that we should not be travelling outside our community or health authority for vacation or recreation right now. Consider day trips only or staying overnight in a local campground or hotel. 

We have seen too many cases of people travelling outside their health authority region and not using their layers of protection, leading to outbreaks and clusters in their home community. 

These outbreaks are avoidable, and right now we must stay within our local region — for the safety of your community and for others.”

The original plan was that there would not be any information release available until Tuesday, however with a Saturday report already delivered, it's anticipated that a follow up account will be delivered later today, with all eyes on Victoria to see if the push over 1,000 cases per day will continue.

Also over the weekend, a new COVID outbreak was reported for the Acropolis Manor Long Term Care facility in Prince Rupert, as well, Prince Rupert Regional Hospital continues to have a COVID outbreak of its own in the Patient Care Unit.

The full statement for the weekend is available here.

There is no BC CDC Data available for the weekend, with the next release of their daily dashboard items to come on Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 PM

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

 

Real Estate Tracker: Week ending April 4, 2021

There was one new addition to the notes for our top end listings, along with a return of a property making its way into our review for the week. 

The split between the east and west of the city remains the same from last week, with seven properties listed on the west side of the city making for three for the list for the area east of McBride for the review.

The listings below are purely for information purposes, for further background on the properties recorded, see our links page for access to the individual real estate listings.

The Archive for our weekly review can be found here.  

Our list of the top ten priced homes for the week ending April 4, 2021 can be explored below:

Real Estate listings on the West Side of Prince Rupert
Week ending April 4, 2021

Real Estate listings on the East Side of Prince Rupert
Week ending April 4, 2021

The total value of the list of ten now sits at just over the 7.5  million dollar mark.

The lowest mark for the review of the week is at $599,000  while our top end from the last week now is marked  at the price point of  $1,098,980


Below find our findings as of the Week ending April 4, 2021

1824 Graham Avenue                    $1,098,980 --  Realty Executives 

234 4th Avenue East                      $898,000 --     Remax

1160 11th Avenue East                  $799,000  --     Remax

2050 Atlin Avenue                         $799,000 --     Realty Executives

2085 Graham Avenue                    $725,000  --    Realty Executives 

1933 Graham Avenue                    $699,000 --     Remax

1941 Graham Avenue                    $672,000 --     Remax 

119 Gull Crescent                          $650,000 --     Realty Executives

2101 Graham Avenue                    $650,000 --     Remax  

525 Pillsbury Avenue                    $599,000 --      Remax

For more items related to Real Estate see our archive page here.  

For background on Housing issues in the region see our past items here.

To return to the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

Easter Sunday brings Notification of Second Outbreak of COVID-19 at Acropolis Manor

Another round of COVID infections has been reported at
Prince Rupert's Acropolis Manor

For the second time in 2021, the residents, staff and families of those living and working at Acropolis Manor have been advised of an out break of COVID-19, affecting two residents of the West Pod of the Summit Avenue facility.

Northern Health relayed the details of the situation today with an information bulletin.

Northern Health is implementing enhanced COVID-19 precautions at Acropolis Manor in Prince Rupert, following lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 among residents. 

NH Medical Health Officers have declared an outbreak for the West Pod at Acropolis Manor. At the time of the outbreak declaration, two residents have tested positive for COVID-19. 

Communication with Acropolis Manor staff, residents, and families is ongoing. NH care facilities have implemented very clear policies and procedures for COVID-19 infection prevention and control, to lower the risk of transmission to residents, staff and physicians within the care facility.

As part of their response to this latest outbreak Northern Health has implemented the following measures.

Increased screening for all staff and residents 

Cleaning and infection control measures have been enhanced Staff and resident movement in the facility has been restricted 

Temporary suspension of social visits (essential visits are not impacted, and can continue)

The reduction in access to the facility comes after measures had recently been loosened province wide, that as part of the government's hopes to allow for more connections for residents and those who are family and friends.

The first outbreak at Acropolis Manor began in mid January and was declared over by Northern Health on March 16th, at that time the coronavirus had claimed sixteen lives with 33 residents and 24 staff members having tested positive.

The outbreak at Acropolis Manor also comes with the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital also suffering an outbreak in the Patient Care Unit, that was disclosed by Northern Health last week, though the number of those impacted by the outbreak was reduced on Thursday in an update.

More on the Northern Health notes today for Acropolis can be found here.

Further information on Northern Health can be explored here.

Blog Watching: Week ending April 4, 2021

The first day of April found a large audience take in our first item of the day, which offered up a glimpse at the future, though a few may suggest our notes were more folly than fact.

This week's results from the BC CDC offered up some sense of progress when it comes to our challenges of COVID, with a significant drop in the weekly case count for the week, but a review that also reminds us that the situation remains a worrisome for many in the community.

The proposed redevelopment of the waterfront near Kwinitsa received another boost from the Provincial government, with additional funding announced this week.

The Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society is ready for the summer job search season, offering up a range of job opportunities for residents of the region.

A marine rescue off the coast of Haida Gwaii, left one crew member dead, two others rescued by fellow mariners after a prawn vessel capsized last week.

However, it was our April 1st article which had us gazing up at Mount Hays that captured the most attention of the week.

Mount Hays, a natural wonder that could energize Prince Rupert's Industrial and Tourism sectors, if proposed development plans move forward over the next 365 days --  After a one year sabbatical, our normally annual salute to the first day of April attracted a large number of viewers to review our fanciful tom-foolery  (posted April 1 , 2021)

That article was followed by:

Prince Rupert data from BC CDC shows much welcome drop in week to week reports of COVID from community outbreak -- For the first time in over six weeks, the results on COVID in Prince Rupert indicated a decline, though the situation is still a worrisome one in the community.  (posted March 31, 2021) 

BC Government funding announcement brings an additional 700K to Waterfront project in Prince Rupert -- The funding for the proposed shift of the Airport Ferry Dock and creation of a new marina continues to roll in with more cash provided by the BC Government.   (posted March 30, 2021) 

Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society outlined upcoming job opportunities for range of enterprises -- With the Summer Jobs Season on the horizon,  the Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society has created an online job fair of sorts, outlining the range of job opportunities that they have to offer.  (posted March 29, 2021) 

Two survivors rescued, one death reported after Prawn vessel capsizes off of Moresby Island -- Coast Guard, RCMP and BC Ambulance resources were called to attend to a marine incident off of Moresby Island, which saw a Prawn vessel sinking, sadly with a loss of life, but also with two crew member rescued.  (posted March 31, 2021)

You can find our weekly Blog watching feature posted every Sunday morning by 9AM, making for a handy way to catch up to the week that was, at a leisurely weekend pace.

You can also review the full listings of the week just past, from our Blog Archive index page found on the right hand side of the page.

For those looking for updates to items as they are posted to the blog, don't forget about our email alert access.

A daily review of the latest items on the blog can be delivered to your email in box, simply by entering your email address into the information bar, items posted to the blog will be delivered to your e-mail account each day.

You can find the link to that feature on the upper, right hand side of the blog. It can be found underneath the Follow the North Coast Review by Email indicator.

As well, those who use Twitter can get updates as we post new items from our twitter feed

Our archive of weekly Blog Watching can be found here.   

To view the most recent blog posting of the day, click here.

Daily COVID Count drops, challenges remain as Health officials urge British Columbians to follow guidance this long weekend

 

The last COVID-19 report of the week offered up a slight reduction of the anxiety of the last few days, though the numbers revealed by Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix of 832 new cases for the day,  still highlighted the accelerated pace of the virus across the province.

Towards those numbers, the two health officials noted of the current challenges and their optimism for the vaccination program ahead, providing supplies remain on track,  that should deliver the first COVID-19 vaccine to all British Columbians by the end of June.

“Today, we are reporting 832 new cases, for a total of 100,880 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 7,571 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 11,608 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. A further 91,732 people who tested positive have recovered. Please note, these numbers are provisional due to a delayed data refresh and will be verified once confirmed. 

Of the active cases, 296 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 five new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,463 deaths in British Columbia."

Across the province, the regional Health Authorities relayed the following data on the day: 310 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 388 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 53 in the Island Health region, 42 in the Interior Health region.

There were 39 cases of COVID-19 reported in the Northern Health region today, which puts the Year to Date total number of cases at 6,043 since January of 2020. 

Health Officials reported no new cases of COVID for people in British Columbia, who reside outside of Canada. 

The Variants watch for the day looks as follows: 90 new confirmed COVID-19 cases that are variants of concern in our province, for a total of 2,643 cases. Of the total cases, 192 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 2,214 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 50 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 379 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant. 

The provincial vaccination program was a key element of today's presentation as well, with Doctor Henry noting that to date, 787,549 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,394 of which are second doses.

Health Minister Adrian Dix called attention that the current level of COVID cases is putting a particular strain on health authorities in Fraser Health and Northern Health.

Today's update also focused on the weekend ahead and what British Columbians should keep in mind as they  plan for the four day break that many will enjoy this holiday period.

“We all need to ensure we are socializing safely. If you choose to spend time with anyone other than your immediate household, it must be outside. You also need to ensure you are giving enough space to others, staying away if you are feeling at all unwell, and staying with the same group of people. 

Travel between communities – beyond what you would do for a day trip – remains high risk for all of us. This is not the time for leisure or vacation travel, or a vacation rental in another community. Rather, this weekend, explore your local region instead. 

We all have the same ability to spread the COVID-19 virus and we all have the same ability to slow the spread. Staying small, staying outside and local will help us to bend our curve down and stay safe.”

Much of today's presentation focus on elements related to the vaccines available to British Columbians, with Doctor Henry using much of the first forty five minutes today to review the province's vaccination  protocols and update the public on the state of supply and how we all move forward.

View the video at the top of this article for the full overview.

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

BC CDC Data for BC For April 1 2021

BC CDC Data for Northern Health Region for April 1 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

 

 

North Pacific Cannery Historical Site readies for summer work with quest for Maintenance Manager

While North Pacific Cannery Historical Site,  the popular tourism facility located in Port Edward may be on another summer hiatus for visitors for 2021, there's much work to be done along the cannery site waterfront, with the first step the recruitment of a Maintenance Manager.

The eight month contract opportunity which could be extended, was recently posted with the Historical Site seeking the services of someone to watch over the tendering process and execution of a range of essential repairs for the site. 

With grant funding and previous capital projects in place the focus for the summer will be on plumbing remediation, electrical and mechanical alterations, and roofing work for two of the sites buildings.

The full scope of what North Pacific is looking for in an applicant can be reviewed below:

The deadline for applications is April 16th.

More notes on the Prince Rupert Tourism sector can be examined here.