B-C is reporting 525 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths. That brings the number of deaths linked to the pandemic to 284. The bulk of the new cases continue to be in the Fraser Health and Vancouver Coastal heath regions. The province now has five-thousand-133 active cases of COVID-19, with 142 people in hospital, including 46 in intensive care.
The Province is warning that those COVID-19-related restrictions could ramp up if cases continue to grow exponentially. Premier John Horgan. says what happens next depends on British Columbians. Returning to a shutdown of businesses is something the province wants to avoid, the premier says, but Horgan isn’t ruling it out. Another thing that isn’t off the table is implementing a Curfew. NO exact details on what that would look like but it seems most people support it.
Doctor Bonnie Henry says she’s excited about positive news from a clinical trial for a potential COVID-19 vaccine involving 44-thousand people from countries where the illness has been surging. She says hasn’t seen the actual data, but Pfizer suggests efficacy up to 90 per cent for the vaccine that could be available next year. Henry says supply of the vaccine will be limited so members of priority groups would be immunized first, such as elders and others who are more likely to suffer severe illness.
A Vancouver biotech company is getting worldwide attention for its role in helping develop a potential COVID-19 vaccine that pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says the vaccine could be up to 90 per cent effective. Vancouver’s Acuitas Therapeutics developed lipid nanoparticles that act as the so-called delivery system for the vaccine, moving it through the body and into cells before the body breaks it down. Pfizer’s ongoing study involves more than 43-thousand participants from six countries and the vaccine requires two doses taken three weeks apart. Canada has ordered 20 million doses and Ottawa is waiting for data from nine other
WorkSafe B-C says it’s stepping up inspections in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions in an effort to limit outbreaks of COVID-19 in the workplace. WorkSafe — which sets and enforces workplace safety standards in B-C — says it is taking the steps because coronavirus infections have spiked in those two regions. It says the enhanced inspections will focus on areas where employees share surfaces or tools, can’t remain at least six feet apart, or must interact with many people. WorkSafe says it will check to ensure employers’ COVID-19 plans are effective, followed precisely and apply to all aspects of the workplace.
The province has extended a rent freeze until next July. The measure — first announced in mid-March — was due to expire on December 1st but a statement from the housing ministry says tenants should continue paying their current rent and ignore any notices about increases.
The Province of British Columbia has formally extended the provincial state of emergency, allowing health and emergency management officials to continue to use extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act to support the Province’s COVID-19 pandemic response.
The state of emergency is extended through the end of the day on Nov. 24, 2020, to allow staff to continue to take the necessary actions to keep British Columbians safe and manage immediate concerns and COVID-19 outbreaks.
“This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we’re all in it together,” said Premier John Horgan. “It’s time to focus on the actions that helped keep us safe this spring: diligent handwashing, physical distancing, wearing a mask and staying home when you’re sick. We all have a role to play in supporting our health-care workers, the health-care system and essential workers, and we must do all we can to keep our loved ones safe, schools open and the economy moving.”
The Bank of Canada has released its shortlist of people being considered for our country’s next $5 bill, and Terry Fox is the most recognizable name of the bunch. Seven other Canadians were also shortlisted to go on the note. To be shortlisted, the nominees have to have died at least 25 years ago. The Bank of Canada expects the new $5 bill to begin circulating a few years from now.
A startup based in Surrey, BC, will be opening the city’s first medical mask facility this month. It will be at Located at 190th and 25th Avenue, Eternity Medical Equipment is one of the first companies established in BC to produce N95 masks for distribution. In response to the government’s call to produce more PPE in Canada, the company projects a monthly production of up to 2.5 million masks, if operating at full capacity.
TransLink is taking part in a four-week pilot project looking into whether copper can be used to reduce transmission of COVID-19 and other illnesses. Officials with Metro Vancouver’s transportation network say a protective coating of anti-microbial copper is to be installed on two SkyTrains and two buses in Vancouver. Health officials say the coatings on high-touch surfaces will be tested twice each week to determine how well they work. Teck Resources is paying the estimated 90-thousand-dollar cost for the initial pilot project.
U-S President Donald Trump and his Republican allies still refuse to acknowledge Joe Biden’s White House win. Raising unsupported claims of voter fraud, Trump has blocked the incoming president from receiving intelligence briefings and is withholding federal funding intended to help facilitate the transfer of power. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo today predicted there would be a smooth transition — to another four years of Trump in power. Biden is shrugging off the fierce refusal to concede and is vowing to get to work, but some Democrats warn that Trump’s actions
are dangerous