The basketball court at Burnett Secondary in Richmond was deserted for the past two months. As soon as the city opened it, young folks were out playing. (Tracy Sherlock photo.)
British Columbia started to reopen this week, with hair salons, restaurants and other businesses opening their doors.
Outdoor parks opened up as well, with tennis courts, skate parks and basketball hoops available for use after two months behind yellow tape. Public transit is busy and traffic is almost back to normal.
In about two weeks, we will see if the reopening plan is working. B.C.’s public health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says contract tracing and expanded testing are ready to go.
“We will be watching very carefully for new cases,” she says.
B.C. has just 307 active covid-19 cases, down from 372 last week. We’ve now had 152 deaths. Canada now has 81,324 cases and 6,152 people have died. Around the world, there have been more than 5 million cases, a number that grows by about 100,000 every day.
Still, many changes continue to happen. Here’s my list for this week:
-The B.C. government announced a plan to reopen B.C. schools more broadly on June 1. Students in Kindergarten through Grade 5 will attend every other day and students in Grades 6 through 12 will attend one day per week. It is optional and online learning will still be provided.
- The Vancouver Police have seen an increase in reports of hate crimes against Asians since the covid-19 pandemic started. There were 11 anti-Asian hate crimes reported in April and there have been 20 in 2020 so far, the police said.
- The first possible vaccine for covid-19 was tested on humans with promising results. The company developing it is called Moderna, but there are may others in the works around the world.
- The border between Canada and the United States will stay closed until at least June 21.
- The United States and China are arguing at the World Health Organization.
- A report in the Globe and Mail says more women than men are dying from covid-19 in Canada, but this runs counter to B.C. and the rest of the world, where more men than women are getting seriously ill and dying.
- Canadian health authorities officially stated this week that wearing a mask when you cannot social distance is a smart idea. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wore a mask to Parliament. Donald Trump refuses to wear a mask.
- In a move that may or may not be related to covid-19, China has proposed new rules that would bring Hong Kong directly under its rule. Widespread protests in Hong Kong in 2019 have been dampened by the pandemic, but have not disappeared.
- South American countries have started to see a surge in covid-19 cases, in particular Brazil, where there are now 310,000 cases.
-B.C. Premier John Horgan said he would like the national government to implement a program for paid sick days for all employees. When pressed, he said B.C. would go it alone if necessary.
- Carbon dioxide emissions dropped 17 per cent around the world, due to covid-19 restrictions, says a report in the journal Nature. If restrictions remain in place until December, the overall reduction in CO2 could be seven per cent, the journal article says.
- The German soccer league resumed games, with no audiences.
- Organized youth and adult sports leagues are working on plans to restart with social distancing rules in place. Tennis and golf are already back on. Baseball and soccer are still working on their plans.
- Nearly 20 per cent of B.C. non-profit organizations said in a survey by Vantage Point that they have closed down or anticipate closing down. Three-quarters of respondents said services were disrupted and have seen reduced revenue from fundraising.
- The Green Party of Vancouver wants the city to designate some outdoor public spaces for drinking. Vancouver has always had strict no-drinking-in-public rules, leading to its nickname as the “no-fun city,” but the Greens say a bylaw should be created changing that. They want certain areas established for physically distant, responsible outdoor drinking at parks and beaches. I never thought I’d see the day that restaurants could deliver booze, so outdoor drinking seems tame in comparison to that.
-The Canada Cup, an international softball tournament held in Surrey for the past 25 years, is cancelled for this year.
-Vancouver-based clothing retailer Aritzia started opening its stores.
Next week we may get some idea of whether or not the relaxation of restrictions is causing an uptick in new cases. Let’s hope not.
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