Noon News Update for April 28, 2020
📷 Covid-19 lab testing / Photo via Flickr (CC BY-2.0).
NANAIMO—The Provincial Health Officer is not backing down from calls to increase the rate of COVID-19 testing, to get a better picture of how widespread the virus is in BC. Dr. Bonnie Henry says BC is capable of testing 3,000 people a day, but she does not believe it's necessary to reach that daily target. Henry says at the start of the pandemic, the only people being tested widely were health care workers, long term care residents and staff or those likely to end up in hospital. Others with symptoms were told to assume they had the virus and to isolate for two weeks. The goal was to try to limit outbreaks and help ensure the health care system would not be overwhelmed. Now that the curve has flattened, everyone who has symptoms is being tested. Henry says tests on people without symptoms yield unreliable results and is a waste of resources. She says she is waiting for a reliable serology test that will measure anti-bodies. Experts hope that type of testing will show what percentage of the general population was actually infected with the virus.
BC's Minister of Health isn't ruling out possible legislation to ensure employees won't lose their jobs or suffer any penalties if they call in sick. The COVID-19 outbreaks at the poultry processing plants on the lower mainland spread quickly because some employees with symptoms continued to go to work. The non-union workers there do not have sick pay. Instead, they are allowed to make up sick days by working extra hours. Adrian Dix says it is vitally important that people do not show up for work when sick, and employers must respect that. When asked whether the province would impose penalties against employers who do not comply, Dix said he was not announcing anything about those issues today, but left the door open for "future announcements."
BC's Seniors Advocate is calling for more volunteers to help elders manage during the pandemic. Isobel Mackenzie says more than 5500 people have already signed up with the Safe Seniors-Strong Communities Program. She says grocery shopping and virtual visiting are the two most requested services. They made up more than 20,000 of the requests for help in the first four weeks of the program. If you would like to volunteer, call the senior's line 2-1-1.
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