Evening News Update for May 5 2020

📷 Health Minister Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry / via Province of BC Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

NANAIMO—Four more people from care homes in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal Health regions have died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. But, BC's latest daily new case count is the lowest its been for almost two months. There are eight new cases of the virus reported, none in the Island Health Region. There are also fewer people in hospital with three in Island health and 75 others in the rest of the province. BC's Provincial Health officer says the numbers show "we've put the brakes on for sure, but we have not yet stopped this train." Dr. Bonnie Henry has released a set of guiding principals in anticipation of the relaxation of some restrictions and the re-opening of some businesses that will be announced by the Premier on Wednesday. You can read Dr. Henry's guiding principals here.

The Mayor of Nanaimo has enlisted the help of the city's business and social service leaders to create a plan to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Mayor's Task Force on Recovery and Resiliency will recommend immediate economic recovery strategies in the short term and identify ways to build local resilience in the longer term. Its plan and recommendations to council are expected this fall. Mayor Leonard Krog says his Task Force will work with individuals, businesses and community groups to support community-driven ideas and solutions for economic recovery. The group includes the President of Vancouver Island University, the Chair of the Nanaimo Port Authority, the Executive Director of the local United Way, the CEO of the Petroglyph Development Group from the Snuneymuxw First Nation and the Regional Managing Partner of Vancouver Island MNP, an accounting and business consulting firm.

Meanwhile, Nanaimo city council has voted against reducing this year's property tax to ease the burden on ratepayers during the pandemic. The tax rate this year will increase by four and a half percent. Council debated whether to limit tax rate increases to 3.8 per cent or 1 per cent. But in a 7-2 vote, council rejected those proposals because they would mean dipping into the city's reserve funds. Instead, council wants the reserve fund money available for economic stimulus projects next year, when federal and provincial assistance programs may no longer exist.

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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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