Dr. Bonnie Henry concerned about the impact of COVID-19 variants

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Friday COVID-19 update

There are 28 new cases of COVID-19 on Vancouver Island today and 471 new cases across British Columbia. Six people have died of Covid since yesterday for a total of 1,246 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Health orders extended indefinitely as infections slowly decrease

The provincial health officer is holding out a carrot at the same time she is extending health orders. Dr. Bonnie Henry says the ban on social gatherings and events will remain in place indefinitely. She says B.C.'s COVID-19 infection rate is slowly decreasing but remains high among those in the 20 to 29 year age group. And, she worries that more transmissible variants could take off. But B.C.'s top doc is holding out hope that churches, sports teams and the safe-six bubble could be back in place by the beginning of March, but she says certain things have to happen first.

"Case rates are an important piece of it. Looking at outbreaks is an important piece. Looking at whether these variants are taking off and increasing so part of it is having that more detailed, multilayered surveillance in place. So it is all of the above and it is also making sure that we are starting on that road to be able to protect those who are most at risk in the communities."
—Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

Henry says much will depend on B.C.'s vaccination program ramping up in the third week of February.

Stay at home order extended until February 19th for Cowichan Tribes

Meanwhile, the Cowichan Tribes has extended its shelter in place order. The order requires people to stay at home, prevents people from visiting, and people can only venture out for essential reasons, like medical appointments and groceries. The order, which has been in place for over a month, has been extended until February the 19th. The nation reported 181 cases in total as last week. It decided not to post numbers this week, out of respect for those mourning a person who died from the virus last week.

COVID-19 exposures and anxiety on the rise in Nanaimo schools

Island Health is reporting COVID-19 exposures at two more schools. Brechin Elementary and Nanaimo District Secondary join the list of nine schools with exposures on the central Island. Three other schools, Barsby, Rock City and Qwam Qwum Stuwixwulh are experiencing clusters, meaning there has been at least one COVID-19 transmission within the school itself. The grievance officer for the Nanaimo Teachers Association, Jeremy Inscho says the clusters have heightened anxiety for everyone at these schools.

"We have three schools where transmission has happened. That's a concern. We aren't doing enough, especially in light of knowing there are new variants of the disease are more transmissible."
—Jermy Inscho, Nanaimo Teachers Associaiton.

The teachers association says it is disappointed the Ministry of Education has not expanded its mandatory mask order to include students in elementary schools as Ontario and Alberta have done.

Twitter account of Nanaimo Clippers owner 'lost at sea'

The owner of the Nanaimo Clippers has deleted his Twitter account after a tweet caused a storm of controversy last month. Wes Mussio tweeted he is "heading to Tampa Bay for the start of the Super Bowl party week.” Mussio faced a barrage of comments, criticizing him for travelling during the pandemic. But Mussio says he's been living in Florida since last October and travelling to the Super Bowl means travelling across a bridge.