Evening News Update for April 24, 2020

📷 Dr. Bonnie Henry / Photo via Province of British Columbia (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).

NANAIMO—Four more people on the lower mainland have died from COVID-19. Today's death count stands at 98. There are three more confirmed cases of the virus in the Island Health region today, bringing our total to 114. Province-wide, there are 29 new cases, totalling 1853. Public Health officials have closed a second poultry processing plant. Two workers at the Superior Poultry plant in Coquitlam tested positive for the virus yesterday. It was closed today. Its sister plant, United Poultry, was ordered closed last Tuesday after 28 workers there were confirmed infected with COVID-19.

The City of Nanaimo is asking some parks and trail users to stay even further than two meters apart. It's asking joggers to stay 5 meters or 16 feet away from others. Cyclists are asked to stay 10 meters or 33 feet away from other park and trail users. The City admits these are not public health orders, but "these new standards are designed to help everyone practice proper parks usage and etiquette during this time."

Remote and indigenous communities that lack high-speed internet can look forward to improved service in the near future. BC's Minister for Citizen Services says the COVID-19 pandemic means students and those with health problems need access to reliable internet service more than ever. Anne Kang says that's why she's fast-tracking the "Connecting BC" program to offer internet companies up to $50,000 grants to upgrade service before the end of June.

The executive director of the Western Forest Contractors Association says tree planting companies are doing their best to calm community fears over the possibility of workers spreading COVID-19 in their towns. John Betts says tree planting in most of the province was delayed until May the first, to ensure all operators are prepared to implement new rules put in place, due to the virus. Now, all companies must have infection control plans approved by the Ministry of Forests, and each must have an infection control officer who will be responsible for duties like having one person picking up take out meals for crews. Workers who stay in hotels will be placed in groups of four or five who will remain together on the job site. They will be responsible for cleaning their shared truck and monitoring each other's handwashing. Security officers have been hired to monitor behaviour at hotels and work camps. Betts admits there is work to do to ensure the communities they work near are on-side. However, Betts points out that none of the 300 planters working in northern BC since February has contracted COVID-19.

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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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