B-C Premier John Horgan is expressing his gratitude to health-care workers after protests outside some hospitals in the province. The provincial government will require proof of vaccination against COVID-19 later this month from residents participating in non-essential activities, such as visiting restaurants, gyms and movie theatres. Demonstrations against the government’s approach on COVID-19 outside hospitals prompted Horgan to issue a statement in support of health-care workers, calling them “the true heroes” throughout the pandemic. Kathy MacNeil, president and C-E-O of the Island Health authority, says some workers at health-care facilities were verbally abused as they came to and from work, and at least one staff member was physically assaulted. The event was billed as a — quote — “world-wide walkout” for “health freedom.” the president of doctors in BC Dr. Matthew Chow made the following statement: “These are health care facilities. People don’t want to be there. People are sick. They’re vulnerable. They want to get better. They need to do so in a peaceful environment. The staff who are caring for them need to be able to get to and from work without being harassed and abused. Having a protest right in front of a major hospital like that, I really hope that the people that have engaged in this and planned this really reflect upon their motivations for doing so, and think about whether they’re actually helping our society versus actually getting in the way.”
Going back to school during the fourth wave of the pandemic in B.C. is stressful enough for parents of healthy children, let alone those whose kids have surgical transplants. A Vancouver father of an immunocompromised third-grader says he’s worried public health guidelines aren’t doing enough to keep kids like his young daughter safe. His seven-year-old daughter is at greater risk because she had an organ transplant at 18 months, meaning she needs more protection from the COVID-19 virus to stay safe and healthy. He’s on the board of directors of the Children’s Organ Transplant Society and says it is a concern many parents of children with transplants are facing with the school year looming. He says making masks mandatory for everyone would help keep his daughter safe, and help parents’ anxieties. In B.C., only children in grades four and above are required to wear a mask at school. Children in kindergarten to grade three do not need to wear one. Teri Mooring, president of the BC Teachers’ Federation says they are appealing to parents to get their children to wear a mask, even if it’s not mandatory. On Tuesday, B.C.’s provincial health officer appealed for anyone working with kids to get their shots, but did not announce any plans to make vaccines required for school staff. As a parent, Hansen-Langmann implores everyone, including anti-maskers and anti-vaxxers, to put their politics aside to protect youth at a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
He knew he’d be outnumbered, he wasn’t surprised when he was spit on, shoved and shouted at, but one man in Kelowna says he just couldn’t sit idly by while a thousand people protested COVID-19 vaccines and restrictions outside the hospital. So he made a sign, masked up, and braved the crowd. When Ben Van Exan heard about protests planned at healthcare facilities across B.C. Wednesday, he was furious. “The hospital is full of doctors and nurses whose responsibility is to take care of the general public. For thousands of people to gather and protest in front of hospitals is insane. It’s just absolutely crazy and mind-blowing,” he tells NEWS 1130. The Vancouver man is in Kelowna helping family, and says he’s attended a lot of protests in the past where there have been confrontations between opposing groups. “I knew that I would be harassed which I was. I was spit at. I was coughed at immediately. Within five minutes of being there, people were right up in my face coughing right into my face,” he says There were a few others in Kelowna counter-protesting like Van Exan was, and while he thinks it’s important to show up and oppose these demonstrations — he does understand why people might stay away. “I wish that more people would come and stand up for what is right and for science and for the collective good. I would do it again, for sure. ”
The R-C-M-P say officers handed out five-thousand dollars worth of fines Sunday night in response to a gathering at the University of British Columbia’s fraternity village. They say hundreds of students gathered in a courtyard and inside several homes, breaking public health rules aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19. They say few people were wearing masks and physical distancing was impossible at the event, which had been advertised on social media. The Mounties say they’re working with U-B-C to make sure any student events, both on and off campus, are in line with public health orders.
B-C’s top doctor has reinstated restrictions on social gatherings in the Northern Health region because of a spike in COVID-19 cases fuelled by the Delta variant. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says indoor gatherings are now restricted to only one other family or five guests, while outdoor gatherings are limited to 50 people. Organized outdoor events of more than 200 people will need a COVID-19 safety plan in place. Henry says the new measures are in addition to the mask mandate that is already in place across the province. (The Canadian Press)
British Columbia has reported 801 new cases of COVID-19 as well as six more deaths. There have been two new outbreaks in long-term care for a total of 20 active outbreaks in health-care facilities, including units in three hospitals. B-C has more than 59-hundred active infections and while 35 per cent are located in the Interior Health region, cases have increased across the province. The province says nearly 77 per cent of eligible residents have now received two doses of COVID-19 vaccine, while 84.6 per cent have one.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home sales have slowed from a frenzied pace earlier this year, but supply has dwindled and prices continue to rise. The board says August home sales in the region totalled three-thousand-152, a 3.4 per cent increase from last August, but a 5.2 per cent decrease from this past July. The board says sales last month were about 20 per cent higher than the 10-year August sales average, but new listings were down 30.6 per cent from last August. It says the composite benchmark price for all residential properties reached one-million-176-thousand in August, up 13.2 per cent from the same period last year and a 0.1 per cent increase from July.