Morning Update for April 13, 2020
Departure Bay Ferry. 📷: CHLY File Photo (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
NANAIMO —Nanaimo's Member of Parliament has written the Prime Minister and the Premier, asking for an order to restrict non-essential travel on all BC Ferries routes. Paul Manly says he's "deeply troubled by the reports of large numbers of travellers making their way to Vancouver Island this weekend on BC Ferries." Manly says islanders deserve to be protected, noting the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital serves the oldest demographic per capital in Canada. He says smaller communities, including the Gulf Islands, do not have the health care resources to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak. A separate online petition has garnered more than 26,000 signatures, as of Sunday afternoon.
On Saturday, the Provincial Health Officer said she believes most British Columbians are self-isolating and that reports of BC ferries traveller numbers are "overblown." Dr. Bonnie Henry says ferry schedules have been cut in half and each ferry is only transporting half of its normal passenger loads. Henry says she has no plans to impose travel restrictions.
The COVID-19 outbreak at the Mission medium-security prison continues to grow. As of Saturday, there were 34 confirmed cases of the virus, including three guards. Five people from the institution have been taken to hospital. BC's Health officer concedes the virus gained a foothold because it was not recognized for many days before infection controls were put into place. Dr. Bonnie Henry will update the COVID-19 numbers this afternoon. As of Saturday, there were no new cases of the virus in the Island Health District, but province-wide there were 35 new infections and three more deaths. Henry says officials are starting to notice most new infections are among people under the age of 50 and many of them are health care workers.
The province will provide grants to musicians and concerts to the people, starting this week. A new program called Showcase BC will provide $500 to emerging artists and $2,000 to established artists for live streaming, songwriting and professional development. The performances begin via live stream later this week. For details, check out the Showcase BC website or on Twitter: #ShowcaseBC.
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