Afternoon Update for April 6, 2020

NANAIMO —BC's provincial health officer says there has been another death from COVID-19, but this time, it was a 40-year-old who died in his home. It's the second death outside of a long term care facility in BC but officials did not name the community where it happened. Today's death brings the total number of fatalities to 39 province-wide. There have been 63 new cases of the virus confirmed since Saturday, totalling 1266 infections in BC. The Island Health region has reported three new cases since Saturday, bringing our total to 79.

N95 Mask. 📷: Wikipedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Meanwhile, health officials here are confident they are not running as short on Personal Protective Equipment as they are in other provinces. Ontario Premier Doug Ford says his province has only one week's worth of PPE because of a ban on US exports of masks to Canada.BC's Minister of Health says "we feel good about our supply." But Adrian Dix did not estimate when the supply could run out. The provincial health officer says a team in the Ministry of Health is in contact with companies and groups offering to provide PPE and it is assessing whether that equipment meets medical standards.

Island Health is confident it's hospitals have enough equipment to handle the most serious cases of COVID-19. The BC Centre for Disease Control lists 11 people in hospital with five in critical care at either Nanaimo Regional General or Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria. They are the two designated hospitals for COVID-19 patients on Vancouver Island. A statement from Island Health says there are 108 ventilators available, along with 70 anesthetic machines. It says many of the machines can be moved to where they need to be.

Transport Canada has ordered BC Ferries and other marine transportation companies to cut in half, the maximum number of passengers per sailing. The ferry corporation must also conduct wellness checks on those coming aboard, with a series of questions. The federal minister of Transport, Marc Garneau, says the new regulations will be in effect until June 30th.On Saturday, BC Ferries suspended its Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay route for the next 60 days. It has also cut the number of sailings in half from Duke Point to Tsawassen and on the Swartz Bay/Victoria to Tsawassen route.BC Ferries is not serving food on board, but vending machines are available.

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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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