Morning News Update for April 21, 2020

📷 Alert Bay Dock / Photo via Province of British Columbia (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

NANAIMO—A COVID-19 outbreak at a work camp in Alberta has prompted BC's Health Officer to issue a new order. Dr. Bonnie Henry says seven workers from the Kearl Lake Project near Fort MacMurray have tested positive for the virus and she expects more to come. that's why she's issued an order that anyone returning from working there over the past two weeks must self isolate for the next two weeks. If they experience symptoms, they must report them to 8-1-1, the provincial health line. Anyone who returned from the Kearl Lake work camp within the past month who has felt sick, must also report to 8-1-1.

In BC, 52 new cases of the virus have been confirmed since Saturday, including five in the Island Health Region. That means there are just under 1700 cases province-wide, including 102 in Island Health. There have been five more deaths since Saturday, bringing the total to 86. All of the latest deaths were on the lower mainland.

Meanwhile, Dr. Henry has confirmed there are eight cases of COVID-19 in Alert Bay. As a result, the village declared its own local state of emergency on Sunday. The declaration includes a 9:30 pm to 6 am curfew and restricts travel to and from Cormorant Island. Last week, Alert Bay's mayor revealed he was infected with COVID-19. Dennis Buchanan suspects he caught it from a traveller.

A reminder that tonight, you can tune in and ask questions of local health officials at a virtual town hall meeting. The officials who will be attending are the CEO of Island Health, its Chief Medical Officer and two area MLAs. The live stream begins at 7:15 on the provincial government's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Nanaimo RCMP has arrested a man who allegedly spat on a worker at the Dollarama Store in the Port Place Mall on Sunday. The worker told police the man became enraged when told he could not enter the store at that time because it was reserved for seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The suspect was found at a bus stop a short time later. Police say he became agitated and combative as the officer approached. However, the man calmed down after a passerby offered to help the officer. RCMP want to speak with the unknown passerby, to thank him and to get a witness statement.

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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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