B.C.'s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry is urging everyone to stick to social activities of their family group or no more than six people, as cases surge in the province. (BC government photo.)
This week, B.C. passed a few milestones, none good. On Wednesday, we broke the 200 cases in a single day mark, but the very next day we jumped to 274 cases in a single day. That’s a pretty steep curve in the wrong direction. We also passed the 12,000-case mark, just one week after passing the 11,000-case mark.
The province also had its first covid-19 outbreak at a school, École de l’Anse-au-sable, in Kelowna. Transmission did take place at the school, where there are now five cases, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said.
At least 160 people from that school are now self-isolating. Henry didn’t rule out closing a school if many staff members need to isolate or if medical officials think it’s needed.
Since September, there have been 213 exposures in schools and six “clusters,” Henry said. The difference between a cluster and an outbreak is that in an outbreak transmission has occurred at school.
This week alone, there were 54 in-school exposures, so, just like our total cases, the number of exposures is getting higher. Of the 213 exposures, one-third have been in staff members and two-thirds have been in students.
Henry is very concerned about family gatherings, in particular weddings in homes in the Fraser Health region. It’s crucial to limit social interactions, and she is considering imposing extra measures, such as restrictions on wedding licences or a reduction in the legal number allowed at indoor gatherings.
“Every gathering needs to be our own household only, or if necessary, our safe six,” Henry said. “Covid-19 knows no boundaries and this virus affects us all.”
B.C. is heading into an election this weekend. By this time next week we may or may not know the results. Apparently, the 700,000 mail-in ballots will not be counted until 13 days after the election and must all be counted manually, the Vancouver Sun reports.
Here are the other events I tracked this week.
- Cases are surging across Europe, the United States and Canada. Dr. Bonnie Henry officially declared a second wave of covid-19 in B.C., after the province had 499 new cases over three days.
- About 1,000 anti-mask protestors were active in Vancouver and on a BC Ferry last weekend, Global News reports.
- Queen Elizabeth, 94, went on her first public outing since the pandemic began in March. She was accompanied by Prince William. Neither of them wore a mask, but they were social distanced.
- Children in parts of Ontario are being told to stay home for Hallowe’en, but B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says the occasion can still be celebrated safely, even with trick-or-treating. Such things as “candy slides” or tongs can be used to pass out individually packaged candy in a physically distanced manor, she says.
- Nurses and other healthcare workers protested in Quebec, saying their working conditions have deteriorated during covid-19, the Globe and Mail reported.
- Researchers in England will intentionally infect young volunteers with the virus that causes covid-19, to help develop a vaccine, the Guardian reported.
- The European Union is planning to remove Canada from the list of countries whose citizens can travel to the region, the Province reported.
- As the economy continues to suffer under covid-19, more than half of workers around the world are worried about losing their jobs, Bloomberg reports.
- Alberta is planning to try testing international travellers on arrival, to shorten the 14-day quarantine time, the Globe and Mail reports. It’s a pilot project that could be expanded. If their test is negative, they can stop quarantining, but they have to agree to wear a mask in public, report any symptoms and avoid vulnerable people. Then they will take a second test six or seven days after arrival.
- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the antiviral drug Veklury (remdesivir) for use in adults and children older than 12 and weighing at least 40 kilograms for the treatment of COVID-19 requiring hospitalization, the FDA announced in a news release. This drug, which was one of the drugs given to U.S. President Donald Trump, should only be used for patients who are hospitalized.
Will we have a new government next week? Will there be a need to shut down our province again to stop covid-19 in its tracks? Only time will tell.
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