Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry got emotional when she talked about the 170 British Columbians who died in May, 2020 from drug overdoses. B.C. government photo.
Anti-racism demonstrations continue in the United States, at the same time as covid-19 case numbers surge higher than ever in many states.
Calls for radical change in the police are growing, while statues of men who defended slavery are being toppled and beheaded. Meanwhile, the United States has surpassed 2 million cases and the global total grows by about 130,000 a day – more than ever before.
Here in British Columbia, our pandemic is at a low hum, with new cases in the low double digits and no deaths for the past six days. But our other health emergency – the opioid crisis – is at a fever pitch, with 170 deaths in May alone. That’s the highest monthly total ever and more than our total deaths from covid-19. The “dramatically increasing toxicity of the drug supply” is to blame, B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said. Disrupted supply chains and closed borders due to covid-19 are the main reason. Most of the dead are men between the ages of 19 and 49.
As for covid-19, in B.C. we now have only 183 active cases, with just one death in the past week. Canada has 97,530 cases, up from 93,726 last week and 7,994 deaths, up from 7,637 last week.
But Dr. Henry reminds us that as the virus surges elsewhere in the world, B.C. needs to remain vigilant. There have been two family gatherings recently where significant numbers of family members were infected. In one instance, there were 30 people present and 15 people got covid-19, she says.
And still, the changes keep rolling in. Here’s my list for this week:
- In B.C. transit busses started charging full fares again and allowing boarding through the front doors.
- Employment numbers for May came out, showing some gains in both Canada and the United States. In British Columbia, there was an increase of 43,000 jobs in the first two weeks of May, but unemployment went up to 13.4 per cent, B.C.'s Finance Minister Carole James said. More than 300,000 people in B.C. have lost their jobs since the pandemic started. Youth have been particularly hard hit, and their unemployment rate is now 28.9 per cent. The accommodation, food services, wholesale and retail trade sectors make up 46 per cent of jobs lost.
- About 21 million people in the United States filed jobless claims, the New York Times reported.
- The Canadian federal government announced $14 billion in funding to the provinces. Details were scarce, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was for the restart of the country, including things like personal protective agreement for healthcare workers and businesses, childcare for parents who need to work, assistance for seniors, support for cities and sick pay of up to 10 days for workers who do not have this benefit. B.C.’s finance minister Carole James said the money won’t cover the province’s covid-19 expenses.
- The Canadian government may introduce fines or jail time for people who have obtained the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) fraudulently, the Globe and Mail reports. When the Liberals tried to pass the legislation, however, none of the opposition parties would play ball, so the bill has not yet passed.
- The Journal Nature reports that restrictions and self-isolation prevented or delayed 62 million cases of covid-19. Similar results were found in Europe.
- Quebec is opening restaurants and Ontario is opening hair salons next week.
- An official at the World Health Organization at first said the spread of covid-19 by people without symptoms was very rare, but the next day the same official said there isn’t enough information to know how much the disease spreads before people have symptoms. The official also said it appears the virus is most infectious right around the time people first start feeling sick. (I’m a supporter of international non-governmental organizations, but the WHO is struggling in this pandemic. They also recently did an about face on masks after months of saying they didn’t help.)
- The coronavirus that causes covid-19 may have been circulating in China as early as August, new research from Harvard Medical School shows. The researchers found an increase in traffic near a hospital in Wuhan as well as increasing searches for the word diarrhea.
- Courtrooms in British Columbia started reopening.
- The DNA company 23 and Me reports that its research found blood type O to be protective for coronavirus.
- The Vancouver Writers Fest announced that it will be virtual this fall.
- British Columbia has approved a National Hockey League plan that could see Vancouver become a hub city for the league. Dr. Henry said teams would have to self-isolate, but their bubble could include a whole team.
- The province released guidelines for youth and other recreational sports to begin again. Then, when insurance problems held up the restart, the province said it would protect recreational sports organizations from liability over covid-19. It’s expected that some recreational sports will start up soon, with games to begin by July 1.
- B.C. renewed its state of emergency for two more weeks. The border with the U.S. is slated to open June 21, but it has been broadly reported that the closure will be extended. Some exceptions are now being made so that families can reunite.
What will next week bring? Let’s hope it’s good news.
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