Noon News Update for April 29, 2020

📷 Chickens / Photo via Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0).

NANAIMO—Two more poultry processing plants on the lower mainland are reporting cases of COVID-19. Specialty Poultry in Yarrow, in the Fraser Valley, announced on its Facebook page, that one of its employees has tested positive for the virus. It says it's on-site Farm Store remains open, but it has closed its processing plant, in order to plan "next steps" with its local health authority. Sofina Foods of Port Coquitlam has confirmed it too has one worker who has COVID-19. However, its plant remains open. In a news release, the plant manager says the infected Sofina employee is a relative of a person who works at a different poultry plant, who also tested positive for the virus. Eighty workers at two other poultry plants, Superior in Coquitlam and United in Vancouver have tested positive. Those plants have been closed for a week.

The mystery surrounding whether catching COVID-19 will lead to immunity is playing out in a case involving a Vancouver woman. CBC Radio is reporting 36-year-old Shilan Garousi contracted the virus in early March. She recovered, then became sick again in early April. Garousi says she is being monitored by her local health authority however it is unclear whether she was tested a second time. The mystery revolves around whether the woman had a relapse of her first infection, or if she caught the virus a second time. BC's Provincial Health Officer has said that is one reason she is looking forward to a reliable serology test that identifies antibodies. Researchers hope to discover how much and what type of antibodies deliver immunity when it comes to COVID-19.

A new report from the University of Toronto says 35 people have died in Ontario because their surgeries and treatments were delayed, to free up hospital beds for the COVID-19 pandemic. British Columbia has also suspended all but emergency surgeries for the same reason. BC's Minister of Health says he knows there have been "unintended consequences" from its COVID-19 policies. However, Adrian Dix says planning is underway to resume surgeries and treatments. He expects that will happen next month.

The Premier will hold a news conference in an hour from now. John Horgan is expected to address concerns that BC has not released its plan for relaxing COVID-19 restrictions. Other provinces, including Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan have announced how they plan to do so. Yesterday, BC's Provincial Health Officer defended this province's decision to wait before any announcements. Dr. Bonnie Henry says Ontario is now reopening businesses that BC never closed. We'll bring you details of the Premier's news conference on our next news update at 3 pm.

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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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