Sonia Furstenau elected leader of BC Greens

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Five new COVID-19 infections in Island Health, no hospitalizations

British Columbia continues to see rising case counts, deaths and hospitalizations due to COVID-19. There have been 317 new cases confirmed since Friday and six more deaths, including the first coronavirus death in the Northern Health Region. There are five new infections confirmed in the Island Health region but no hospitalizations. However, there are 58 people in hospital elsewhere in BC, including 16 in intensive care. B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer says increasing admissions are putting a strain on hospitals, but Dr. Bonnie Henry says it's nowhere near capacity.

"As we get more cases, the chances of getting spillover into people who are more vulnerable, people who are more likely to have severe illness and end up in hospital is going up and we're seeing that. We're not seeing overwhelming of our health system but we need to do our best to prevent transmissions to people who are more likely to end up in hospital or ICU."—Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Henry says the spillover is happening when young people with the virus infect senior members of their own families.

Screening for lung cancer coming to B.C.

British Columbia has become the first province in Canada to launch a comprehensive screening program for lung cancer. The CT scan screening program will be in place in hospitals across the province by the spring of 2022. The vice president and chief medical officer of BC Cancer says currently, three quarters of all lung cancers are diagnosed in late stages, and has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers. Dr. Kim Chee says lives will be changed because of today's announcement.

"Six British Columbians will die everyday from lung cancer. Prevention and early detection are the keys to changing this statistic. By introducing lung cancer screening in BC and linking these efforts with prevention by smoking cessation programs, we can decrease mortality, increase the chance of cure and improve survival from lung cancer."—Dr. Kim Chee.

When complete, the program will screen 20,000 people a year.

Sonia Furstenau warns Premier Horgan against early election

Sonia Furstenau, the MLA for the Cowichan Valley is the new leader of the BC Green Party. Furstenau won the three way race in the second ballot, with 52.4 per cent of the vote. In her victory speech, Furstenau warned the government against what she called "the spectre of a completely unnecessary and irresponsible early election."

"To John Horgan, I say: 'You have a responsibility to govern. This is not the time to dissolve the government, to leave a province leaderless for over a month in hopes of securing more power for yourself.'"—BC Green Party Leader Sonia Furstenau.

Furstenau also stressed the need to continue the party's focus on the environment and to press the provincial government to provide mental health counselling under the medical services plan.