Ever increasing spike of new COVID-19 cases brings range of additional measures in British Columbia

Premier Horgan called on British Columbians to recommit themselves to working towards reducing the current accelerating pace of COVID-19 infection, sharing a number of his concerns over recent data that has shown a rising count of positive cases of the coronavirus on a daily basis over the last few weeks. 

In his opening remarks, the Premier spoke of early celebrations and in particular seemed to direct much of his focus on British Columbia's younger residents from the late teens to early thirties for much of his attention.

"Since the pandemic began Doctor Henry, Minister Dix and I have been focused on one thing and that is keeping British Columbians safe. And we've been making great progress in British Columbia and often times I've taken to this podium without Doctor Henry and Minister Dix as they conducted their regular engagement with British Columbians while I took care of other issues that required attention as we came through pandemic.

But the past couple of weeks have put significant challenges in front of all of us  and I wanted to be here with them today, to talk about those two primary issues. The first of course is the increase in case counts over the past ten days or so. Doctor Henry and Minister Dix will get into the details of that.

But during the past week case counts have risen unacceptably high, in fact higher today than at the worst point of the second wave between November and January of this year. The percentages of tests coming back positive has gone up 50 percent in some areas and the number of variants in British Columbia has also increased.

I wanted to be here to say to British Columbians that we have made such great progress, together focusing on our collective well being individual actions to protect the greater good and we've come a great distance but we cannot blow it now."

The Premier then observed as to the success of the vaccination program now underway, as well as the challenges that remain for the province in the weeks and weeks  ahead and the need to redouble our efforts to focus on individual responsibility towards the greater good,  with the Premier addressing his comments specifically to younger residents of the population.

"Now I know that the people that tune in regularly to see Doctor Henry and Minister Dix are following the rules, they are paying attention to the details and focusing on making sure that they do their part to get British Columbia through this. 

The cohort from 20 to 39 are not paying as much attention to these broadcasts and quite frankly are putting the rest of us in a challenging situation. 

I'm asking, I'm appealing to young people to curtail your social activity  the directions will be quite clear from Doctor Henry. 

But my appeal to you is do not blow this for the rest of us, do not blow this for your parents and your neighbours and others who hav been working really, really hard making significant sacrifices, so we can get good outcomes for everybody"

As for the increased enforcement ahead,  it was up to Doctor Bonnie Henry to relay the recent data and a list of many new measures to be put in place 'circuit breakers' across the  province at places of work and worship, social settings and in the classrooms of British Columbia. 

In the data review, it was noted that British Columbia recorded 2,518 new cases from Saturday through to today, with the number from Friday to Saturday of 936 the highest daily count for BC since the coronavirus arrived in January.

With a total to date of 98,165 residents having been confirmed with COVID-19, it's likely that British Columbia will no doubt pass the 100,000 mark well before the Easter weekend period gets underway on Thursday.

As for new measures, noting how this was a setback and a step back from where we wanted to be, Doctor Henry observe how these circuit breakers to be put in place over the next three weeks will be essential to allow for the vaccination program to find success and to let the province reach its destination.

New and amended orders and guidelines are in effect through April 19, 2021, and include: 

For restaurants, bars and pubs, all food and liquor-serving premises must only provide take-out or delivery service. Dine-in service is prohibited, except for outdoor patios. People dining on patios should do so with their immediate household or core bubble. 

Indoor, adult group fitness activities of any kind are also paused. 

Gyms and fitness centres are restricted to individual or one-on-one activities only i.e. one-on-one personal training. 

The previously announced class variance for limited indoor worship services has been suspended. Outdoor worship services under the current variance may continue. 

Travel continues to be limited to essential travel, work or medical reasons only. For those who have travelled outside their health region, if you or anyone in your family develops any signs of illness, you must stay home from work, school or daycare, and arrange to get tested immediately. 

Whistler-Blackcomb ski resort is closed through to April 19, 2021, to address and prevent community spread related to non-essential travel. 

All workers are strongly encouraged to work from home, where possible. 

Public health guidance for schools has also been amended to support and encourage students down to Grade 4 to wear masks while at school.

Doctor Henry also noted the impact the new measures will have on Social Connections, but how they are required at this time to address what has been exponential growth in recent weeks of the COVID0-19 coronavirus.

"Social connection is important, and so is keeping our loved ones and ourselves safe. We all have a choice – to stay safe or put our loved ones, our friends and ourselves at risk, which is why non-essential activities need to be limited and need to be outside with the same small number of people. The sacrifices we make today will help all of us to get through this storm.”

Further notes from the Premier on the current situation facing the province included  how the new measures today will serve to reach the end of the pandemic period

“COVID-19 continues to create challenges for people and businesses throughout B.C., and we are grateful for the sacrifices people continue to make to keep one another safe. We know that the idea of more restrictions is not welcome news, but we are asking people to rise to the challenge with the confidence that vaccines mean better days are ahead. We are not out of the woods yet, but the provincial health officer’s orders, combined with our vaccines, give us the tools we need to move out of this pandemic together.” 

For more notes on today's announcements see the BC Government statement here.

The full report for Monday's data review from the BC CDC will be released later this afternoon. 

You can review the provinces travels through the last year of COVID from our archive page here.

Terrace's Northwest Regional Air Show will remain on hiatus in 2021

The times of COVID have seen another much anticipated Northwest event have to shut things down for another year, with the organizers of the Northwest Regional Airshow providing an update today on the status of the event.

Noting that there has been no change to the province's Public Health Orders towards gatherings, the organizers have decided to postpone the Airshow for another year, with hopes of returning to the skies above the Terrace-Kitimat airport in 2022.

They had hoped to bring the Northwest together in Terrace on July 21st, which would have marked the first time in 21 years that the airport in the Skeena Valley would have hosted an aviation event. 

Among those scheduled for the event had been the Canadian Forces Snowbirds and the Canadian Forces CF-18 Jet demo team

You can follow the Northwest Regional Air Show planning for 2022 and keep up with any information through this year from their Facebook page here or from their website.

The cancellation of the Terrace show will mean that aviation fans will have a road trip on the schedule for August, with the Vanderhoof Airshow still indicating plans to go ahead this summer.

One of British Columbia's largest airshows hosted in Abbotsford each August also seems to still be in the planning stages as well, you can learn more about that event here.

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

BC Bus North receives over 1.6 million dollars in funding for another year of operating costs

The BC Bus North will continue to offer service
from Prince Rupert to points east after another year
of funding was announced today

The transportation service that transits across Northern British Columbia by bus has been  awarded enough funding to carry on for another year; that following a joint announcement today from the Federal and provincial governments to allocate over 1.6 million dollars towards the BC North bus service. 

“Connecting communities and people is essential, especially in a province like British Columbia with such a large and diverse rural and northern population. Extending this service will provide economic growth, as well as safe passage for travellers between Northern B.C.’s remote communities.” -- Terry Beech, MP for Burnaby North-Seymour, and Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard and to the Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages

Diversified Transportation, the current operator of BC Bus North, will continue providing service until the contract expires. Services are contingent on the provision of federal funding and are temporary. 

BC Bus North launched service in the spring of 2018, picking up much of the destinations once served by Greyhound across northern B.C., called into service when the national bus line ended its service in the province in February of that year. 

As part of their service, BC Bus North has a fleet of four highway coaches that provide scheduled service to 39 communities including Prince Rupert. 

Diversified is part of the Pacific Western Group of companies, which is also the operator of regional transit services in the Prince Rupert/Port Edward area.

North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, who has long been an advocate for regular and reliable transportation across the Northern Corridor region, noted how the service is vital for residents for a large number of communities.

“For people in northern B.C., the service that BC Bus North provides is vital to their weekly routines and well-being. Indigenous communities and British Columbians living in these rural areas rely on this reliable, affordable transportation service, and we’re thrilled that BC Bus North will continue to serve people from Prince George, to Prince Rupert, Fort Nelson, Valemount and all locations in between.”

More on today's announcement can be reviewed here.

The BC North bus arrives and departs from the Highliner Inn in Prince Rupert, you can learn more about the service here.

For more notes on Transportation along the Highway 16 corridor see our archive page here.

Northern Health declares COVID-19 outbreak at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital

See Update at bottom of page 

***** Original story *****

COVID-19 continues to cut a path across Prince Rupert, with Northern Health advising of an outbreak of the coronavirus at Prince Rupert Regional Hospital, with four patients listed as lab confirmed cases to date from the current outbreak.

As a result Northern Health has begun further monitoring and testing to determine if there are any additional cases at the facility.

As part of the advisory, Northern Health noted the following:

Enhanced outbreak control measures are in place at (PRRH). 

Northern Health Public Health is closely monitoring for additional cases, and the facility is taking steps to protect the health of staff and those they care for, with enhanced outbreak precautions such as (but not limited to): 

Increased frequency of cleaning and infection control measures 

Enhanced symptom monitoring among all staff and patients 

Limiting movement of staff and patients between care areas of the hospital 

Public health officials will be monitoring the situation carefully over coming weeks and will only declare the outbreak over when they are confident that chains of transmission have been stopped.

The full statement from Northern Health can be reviewed here.

Last week, the latest data release from the BC CDC indicated that the Prince Rupert area continued to have the largest volume of cases in the Northwest at 113 reported for the week of March 14-20, a decline from weeks previous, but still a number of  high  concern for the community.

Update: On Thursday, April 1, Northern Health advised that they had revised the number of patients identified as having tested positive for COVID, lowering that number to three.

For more notes from Northern Health see out archive pages here.

Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society outline upcoming job opportunities for range of enterprises

Bob's on the Rocks at Rushbrook Floats, just one of a number
of Nisga'a business enterprises looking for summer help this year

The Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society is hosting an online Jobs Fair of sorts at the moment, providing some background on a range of job opportunities available with the local organization. 

In notes shared at mid month, they observe of the list of open positions at one of the growing number of businesses and services that they own and operate in the Prince Rupert/Port Edward region.

Among those enterprises that they are putting the Help Wanted sign out at include:

Bobs on the Rocks
Rupert Lawn and Garden
Yaga Cafe
The Rainflorist
Port Edward General Store

The notes on prospective employment are relayed through the Gitmaxmak'ay Nisga'a Society Facebook page which also includes a video from CEO Blair Mirau, who provides a guide to the organization and the jobs available starting in April or May.

Rupert Lawn and Garden at Seal Cove
(photo from Gitmaxmak'ay FB Page)

In addition to the listing of the jobs from his presentation, the Gitmaxmak'ay CEO also reveals the new name for their latest venture that being a cafe to be called Yaga, which he observes in the Nisga'a language means located at the bottom or base of a hill, something he notes is 'a pretty perfect description' for the location which is part of the Rupert Lawn and Garden venture in Seal Cove. 

That area as the Gitmaxmak'ay official who also serves on Prince Rupert City Council notes, is soon to be the community's latest park space with work underway on the lagoon area.

He also makes note of the opening day for Bob's on the Rocks, located at the end of the Rushbrook Trail, as we outlined earlier this month, the Gitmaxmak'ay and the City of Prince Rupert are currently exploring a five year lease for that property.

For those wondering if they're a 'good fit' for the range of Nisga'a owned business operations, Mr. Mirau offered up some notes of assistance on that theme.

To learn more about the opportunities now available see the Gitmaxmak'ay video below

Or review the notes from from their Facebook page.

You can also contact the CEO through his email at blair@gitmaxmakay.ca

For more notes on the Nisga'a Society in Prince Rupert/Port Edward see our archive page here.

Further notes on the city's business sector can be explored here.

BC's COVID-19 Update for Monday to be moved up to early afternoon, Premier to be in attendance

Will John Horgan bring a hammer?
The Premier has plans to join Dr. Bonnie Henry
and Health Minister Adrian Dix at today's 
COVID update which has been moved up to 1PM

With a weekend of data to share on the state of COVID in British Columbia over the last three days, the province's Provincial Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix have moved up the regular time of 3 PM for the update, which is now scheduled for 1PM.

In addition to the two top health officials in the province set to deliver the latest data,  Premier John Horgan will also be part of today's presentation, something which has caught the attention of the Legislature media.

An appearance that a few of those covering provincial politics suggest may indicate a signifiant announcement may be on the way.

When we last left Dr. Henry and Minister Dix, BC had recorded 908 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, more than half of them found in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal Health Region. The results of Friday just the latest of the daily reviews to show some alarming spikes in the province's COVID reporting amid concerns that variant cases are taking hold.

Last week the Premier spoke to the province's vaccination program, but also reminded British Columbians that there is a need to continue to adhere to all of the public measures that have been put in place by the Provincial Health Officer.

Today's Update will be live-streamed across the province at 1 PM.

For more notes related to the province's response to COVID see our Tracking page here.

City puts its outdoor washroom plan out for proposals

Whether the Prince Rupert model
of an outdoor washroom
will resemble the Portland Loo
above, or something else remains 
to be seen

The City of Prince Rupert is set to move forward on its plan to provide for an outdoor toilet facility somewhere in the downtown core area. 

With a Request for Bids posted to the BC Bid website last week, launching  a fifteen day period to accept potential bids for the step up above your traditional porta-potty concept.

As we outlined back in February, City Council had given the go-ahead towards seeking out 200,000 dollars in grant funding for the project, with the City to supply suitable land to host the site and an estimated 30,000 dollars in operational funding for the toilet

The Report to Council at that time from the City's CFO Corinne Bomen provided some background to the grant and the city's plans.

The RFP for the proposed toilet was issued last Wednesday through the provincial bid site.

For those considering putting in a bid request, the outdoor facility planning covers a wide range of items for proponents to consider, the list of which you can review below:

The weighted scale of consideration, covers four elements, with the most important of the quartet that of Sustainability and Serviceability, with Budget a close second.

The timeline for delivery of bids is set for 3 PM April 8th.

The City states the proposed deadline for delivery of work is June 30, 2021 but advises that date could be amended at the City's discretion.

Of note from the documentation is that the city has yet to identify where it plans to place the Outdoor facility, which would appear to be part of the process for the Bid to advise on the potential sites.

You can review the full RFP from the City through the BC Bid website.

A look at some of Council's past notes on the Outdoor Toilet proposal this year can be found below:

February 10 -- City Council looks to be Lookie-Loos on grant prospects for 24 hour public loo

February 8 -- Council to consider opportunity to seek ou funding for additional public restroom facilities in the city

You can review some of the City's past RFP's here.

For more notes related to past Council discussions see our archive page here.