The efforts of B-C residents have managed to slow the increase of new COVID-19 cases, but the provincial health officer and the health minister say deaths remain high. The joint statement from Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix says that is why groups must remain small and people need to keep layering up on their protections. Another eight people died yesterday for a total of 954 deaths since the pandemic began. There were also 428 new cases diagnosed, lifting the number of COVID-19 cases to 54 thousand 629.
A White Rock father who filed suit against the provincial government last fall for its COVID-19 back-to-school plan has now launched an online effort to compile “critical data that we all have a right to know about and responsibility to share,” when it comes to preventing spread of the virus. Bernard Trest said he and his son Max started the ‘COVID Reported’ Facebook page to show where exposure events have occurred locally, as well as highlight sites where safety protocols aren’t being followed – information that Trest says authorities and places of business haven’t been sufficiently forthcoming about. Many businesses have been refusing to publicly share information on COVID-19 exposure events at their establishments, he continued, and B.C. health authorities “essentially list absolutely nothing as if a deadly virus is not circulating in our communities.” The site will be updated daily, he said, including a map showing the reported locations, dates of exposures and how many days between the exposure and notification. Trest said the effort is about transparency around where COVID-19 infections are occurring, and helping people protect themselves from exposure.
With students back in school amid surging COVID-19 cases in B.C., the teacher’s union is asking the province to give districts clear direction when it comes to COVID-19 safety, including mask-wearing. BC Teachers’ Federation president Teri Mooring says she wants the province to stop deferring all decisions to health officials and take on the responsibility. Mooring says she’s hoping provincial coordination, communication, and data transparency will be improved. She adds sharing school COVID-19 cases data is another area Mooring says needs to be better. Some parents have been calling for more transparency from the health and education ministries to lower concerns in the first week. Without clearer information about COVID-19 school exposures, some are feeling extra nervous.
The United States did it, they beat the Canadian team at the world junior hockey championship last night. The US beat our boys 2-0 to capture the gold medal. The U.S. players poured over the bench as the buzzer sounded, tossing sticks and gloves as they celebrated in Rogers Place in Edmonton. The tournament was played with no fans in the stands to prevent the spread of COVID-19 It’s the first gold medal for the Americans since they won it all in 2017. And Canada shouldn’t be all that sad we still got a silver medal so not all bad
The Grammy Awards are being postponed from January 31st until March 14th. The Recording Academy says the delay is because of a surge in COVID-19 infections in Los Angeles County, where an average of six people are dying every hour from the virus. Health officials there are concerned about another wave of infections from gatherings for Christmas and New Year’s Eve.