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📷 Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry provides an update on COVID-19 on May 26, 2020 / via Province of British Columbia

Dr. Bonnie Henry says she is "extremely pleased to announce no deaths have occurred as a result of COVID-19 in BC in the past 24 hours." That's the first time that's happened in five and a half weeks. There were 11 new cases of the virus confirmed in BC since Monday, but there have been no new cases on Vancouver Island in close to three weeks. A new case reported last week was of a person who lives in the region, but caught the virus and recovered from it in Alberta. Currently, there is only one active case in Island Health and that person has been in hospital for several weeks. Nevertheless, the provincial health officer says those statistics do not tell the whole story. Dr. Henry believes there are still unconfirmed cases out there. She says people can be asymptomatic, showing no signs and others with mild symptoms don't realize they have it. She says in some cases, a person has tested positive, then a family member shows the same symptoms but does not want to be tested, so that case is not recorded in the statistics. Henry says our brief pandemic history shows cases pop up unexpectedly, like in the processing plants on the lower mainland. The doctor says that's why although BC has a lot to be proud of in bending the curve, the only way that will continue is if people practise the basics like safe physical distancing, small gatherings outside, frequent hand washing and staying away from others if you are feeling even mildly ill.

The uncertainty surrounding daycare in the age of COVID-19 will be a topic for discussion tomorrow afternoon at a virtual town hall meeting. The Minister of State for Child Care and the medical lead for the Provincial Health Office will be on a panel to take your questions. You can catch the broadcast at 3 PM tomorrow on the BC Government's Facebook page or its YouTube channel.

It has not been a good year for the Nanaimo-based cannabis company Tilray. Today, it announced it is closing its licensed cannabis greenhouse in Leamington Ontario. This comes after reporting losses of $184 million US in the last quarter and $219 million dollars US in the quarter before that. The company laid off 144 employees or ten per cent of its workforce in February.

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Written and reported by: Lisa Cordasco, News Director for CHLY 101.7FM.

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