Noon News Update for May 21 2020

📷 Harry Bains, Minister of Labour, discusses recently released WorkSafeBC sector guidelines.jpg / via Province of BC

NANAIMO—The Minister of Labour is promising a robust level of inspections, as businesses begin to reopen. Harry Bains says that's why his ministry has increased the number of inspectors and hotline advisors since mid-March. Bains says close to 9,000 inspectors have been conducted since the start of the pandemic. Starting now, inspections will be initiated by both complaints and by random visits to businesses in all sectors. Bains is confident that businesses and consumers are making themselves well aware of the WorkSafe BC guidelines. He says the WorkSafe guideline page has seen more than half a million visits since the guidelines were posted one week ago. The Minister and WorkSafe's head of prevention services will host a town hall meeting tonight to answer your questions. It starts at 7:15 p.m. on the provincial government's Facebook page.

And on the subject of town halls, thousands of British Columbians tuned in and asked questions about reopening classrooms during one such meeting last night. There were just under 2000 questions and comments during the live broadcast. Many questions focused on how schools plan to keep COVID-19 from infecting students and teachers. The Minister of Education pointed to a comprehensive document that includes protocols for cleaning, class size and other environmental measures. It's on the government's COVID-19 website, by searching "Health and Safety Guidelines for K-12 setting. Rob Flemming says each district must submit its plan to the Ministry for approval before the end of May. The medical lead for the Provincial Health Officer says infection rates are low enough that experts believe schools will be very safe. Dr. Trevor Corneil says even if someone does become infected, health officers assigned to school districts and contact tracing teams are well set up to identify and contain the spread of the virus. The president of the BC School Trustees Association assured teachers they would not be burdened with more work or high risks. Stephanie Higginson says each district is mandated to work collaboratively to address work and health issues with teachers and staff.

Graduating students wanted to know about celebrations and whether the disrupted year will affect applications to colleges and universities. Flemming says he's working with provincial post-secondary institutions to build flexibility into that process. The Minister hinted at a virtual grad celebration featuring some famous British Columbians. You can watch the 90-minute video of the meeting on the provincial government's Facebook page or Youtube channel.

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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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