Evening News Update for May 20 2020

📷 Premier John Horgan provides a weekly update / via Province of BC

NANAIMO—New COVID-19 numbers today show it's one step forward, two steps back. Yesterday, there were only two new cases of the virus in BC, but today, there are 21 new cases including a new outbreak at an assisted care home in Mission. However, there have been no new coronavirus cases in the Island Health region for the past week. And, all but one person has recovered from the virus in our region. Three more people from the lower mainland have died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, with the total number of deaths now at 149.

The Premier says employers should not use the partial reopening of BC classrooms next month, to demand their employees return to work. John Horgan says schools are not daycares and he admits the part-time voluntary plan to resume in-class instruction is really a dry run for the Ministry of Education in anticipation of the new school year in September. The Minister of Education and the president of the BC School Trustees Association will host a virtual town hall meeting tonight at 7:15 on the provincial government's Facebook page.

As businesses continue to slowly reopen, the Premier says he will continue to push the federal government to create a national sick day assistance program. Horgan wants a plan to ensure workers, who do not receive sick pay benefits from employers, will stay home when they are ill. He says the province is prepared to go ahead with a plan of its own if he cannot convince the Prime Minister and the other Premiers to establish a federal program.

Campgrounds at two Nanaimo Regional District Parks will reopen on June the 1st. The regional district says there will be limits on the number of campers in order to ensure safe physical distancing. There will be enhanced washroom cleanings, but campers are being asked to bring their own hand sanitizer. Campgrounds at Descanso Bay Regional Park on Gabriola Island and Horne Lake Regional Park in Qualicum Bay will open and you can make a reservation online, starting Monday. To reserve a visit: rdn.bc.ca/rdn-camping.

Meanwhile, the Cedar Skate Park will reopen tomorrow. It follows the reopening of virtually all outdoor sports facilities in the region last week. However, playgrounds and indoor facilities, like recreation centres, arenas and pools, remain closed. The Regional District says it is working on plans to reopen those facilities in the future.

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Lisa Cordasco

Senior Reporter and News Director — Lisa is responsible for creating the station's first morning news current affairs show on CHLY. She is also deeply involved in training and mentoring student and citizen journalists who volunteer their time at the station. Before joining CHLY, Lisa spent 35 years in various roles at CBC Radio, from host to reporter. Her passion for journalism and radio has led her to Nanaimo, where she intends to provide CHLY listeners with news they can use, in an alternative radio environment. Her other not-so-secret passion is costuming for any occasion.

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