Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. for May 15, 2020.
We’ll provide summaries of what’s going on in B.C. right here so you can get the latest news at a glance. This page will be updated regularly throughout the day, with developments added as they happen.
Check back here for more updates throughout the day.
CASE SUMMARY
As of the latest numbers on May 15:
• Total confirmed cases in B.C.: 2,407 (359 active cases)
• New cases since May 14, 2020: 15
• Hospitalized cases: 51
• Intensive care: 12
• COVID-19 related deaths: 140
• Recovered: 1,908
• Long-term care and assisted-living homes currently affected: 15
• Acute care facilities currently affected: 5
The next update is Saturday at 1 p.m.
IN-DEPTH: COVID-19: Here are all the B.C. cases of the novel coronavirus
GUIDES AND LINKS
• COVID-19: Here’s everything you need to know about the novel coronavirus
• COVID-19: Vancouver-area events postponed or cancelled because of spreading virus
• COVID-19: What’s open and closed in Metro Vancouver due to coronavirus
• B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool
LATEST UPDATES
3 p.m. – B.C. health officials report 15 new coronavirus cases, five new deaths
Provincial health officials reported 15 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, and five deaths.
Four of the five deaths were in the Fraser Health region, and there was more bad news for the region Friday: health officials confirmed two new outbreaks, just one day after outbreaks at four Fraser Health facilities were declared over.
There is a new acute-care outbreak at Abbotsford Regional Hospital, health officials said, and a new community outbreak at the Oppenheimer Group, a fruit and vegetable processing plant in Coquitlam.
11 a.m. – Freeland won’t say if U.S. wants border agreement extended beyond June 21
Canada and the United States are both “very comfortable” with their mutual ban on non-essential cross-border travel, but Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland won’t say if the Americans want to extend the restrictions beyond June 21.
Recent media reports suggest the U.S., fearing the importing of COVID-19 cases, wants an indefinite timeline for existing restrictions at both its southern and northern borders. It’s not clear if that pertains to the ban on non-essential travel or is specifically aimed at curtailing immigration.
Freeland refused Friday to discuss the details of Canada’s talks with the U.S. beyond describing them as “very, very cordial” and “very constructive.”
But when asked if the U.S. is looking for a longer timeline, she suggested that neither country is in any hurry to ease the restrictions.
“Both sides feel the current measures are working really, really well in restricting non-essential travel, but also, really importantly for both countries, in ensuring that essential travel continues,” Freeland said, citing the particular need for effective automotive supply chains as manufacturers come back online.
“The essential travel is still happening. Both countries feel very comfortable with that.”
10:30 a.m. – B.C. schools reopening on optional, part-time basis in June
Premier John Horgan says B.C. students will have the option to return to classes in June on a part-time basis, with the goal of returning to full-time classes in September.
“British Columbians have worked hard to flatten our curve. As we move into the next phase of our pandemic plan after the May long weekend, the science shows us that we’re ready to bring students back to school safely on a gradual and part-time basis,” Horgan said Friday.
The province’s 20,000 teachers and 275,000 K to 12 students have been using video conferencing since classes were suspended two months ago due to the COVID-19 pandemic, although as many as 5,000 children of front-line essential service workers have been able to attend school.
Beginning June 1, students in kindergarten to Grade 5 will be able to go to school half time (such as alternating days), while grades 6 to 12 will go to school about one day a week.
Although the B.C. government expects most to continue to work remotely.
9:15 a.m. – Worldwide coronavirus cases pass 4.49 million, death toll crexceedssses 302,200
More than 4.49 million people have been reported to have been infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 302,207 have died, according to a Reuters tally.
Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.
9 a.m. – B.C. minister ’cannot remain silent’ about increasing anti-Asian hate crimes
British Columbia’s minister responsible for multiculturalism says she can no longer remain silent about the rising number of hate crimes toward people of Asian heritage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, Anne Kang says she is deeply saddened by the recent rise in physical and verbal attacks as well as an increase in vandalism.
Kang says she is “compelled as a government representative, immigrant and British Columbian to speak out against these vicious acts.”
The Vancouver Police Department has reported that the number of anti-Asian, hate-related crimes spiked in April, with 11 occurring last month, compared with 12 for all of 2019.
Kang, who moved to Canada from Taiwan, says the pandemic is affecting everyone and “acts of violence and aggression will not be tolerated.”
She says kindness will bring us through this global health crisis stronger than ever.
8:30 a.m. – Federal COVID-19 wage subsidy to last through summer, Trudeau says
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a federal wage subsidy for employees in businesses hit hard by COVID-19 will last at least until the end of August.
The subsidy was set to expire in the first week of June, only a few weeks after the first payments rolled out.
Trudeau says the idea is to give employers more runway and confidence to resume operations slowly if they have to.
Finance Minister Bill Morneau is to reveal details of a broadening of the program later today.
Trudeau also says the government will make adjustments to the program, including changes to the threshold for how much qualifying companies’ revenues must have declined, to ensure employers can access the help as business kicks back up.
The subsidy covers 75 per cent of wages for employers that have seen sharp declines in revenue since the novel coronavirus pandemic hit Canada hard in March, up to $847 per worker, per week.
7:45 a.m. – Poll says British Columbians feeling financial pinch during pandemic
A new poll conducted by Insights West indicates the majority of British Columbians are starting to feel the economic pinch of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s been nearly two months since provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry declared a public health emergency in B.C., and in that time, according to the survey, 54 per cent of British Columbians say their bank accounts have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated safety measures put in place, including 11 per cent who say it has had a “major negative impact.”
According to the poll, 38 per cent of respondents say they have lost between $5,000 and $50,000 during the health crisis, while 26 per cent says they have lost under $5,000, 7 per cent claim losses of between $50,000 and $100,000, and 5 per cent say the pandemic has cost them more than $100,000.
7:30 a.m. – Kwantlen University to continue with remote classes come fall
Kwantlen Polytechnic University is the latest B.C. post-secondary institution to announce it will be offering classes primarily online come the fall semester as uncertainty over the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
Citing student and staff safety, Kwantlen president and vice chancellor Alan Davis says most classes will be delivered remotely and the Surrey-based school will offer only very limited on-campus learning opportunities, focused on those courses that require the use of labs, shops and studios.
7:15 a.m. – Scheer calls for return of Parliament
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer is again calling for a return of Parliament.
The House of Commons stands adjourned until May 25, though has returned several times in a modified form to pass emergency aid legislation.
Committees are also still meeting virtually, and a special one dealing solely with response to the COVID-19 pandemic meets twice a week virtually and once in person.
But Scheer says as restrictions begin to lift across the country and a slow economic recovery begins, it is even more important to be able to keep the Liberal government accountable for the billions in aid they’ve spent.
6 a.m. – The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada
There are 73,401 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.
• Quebec: 40,724 confirmed (including 3,351 deaths, 10,829 resolved)
• Ontario: 21,494 confirmed (including 1,798 deaths, 16,204 resolved)
• Alberta: 6,457 confirmed (including 121 deaths, 5,205 resolved)
• British Columbia: 2,392 confirmed (including 135 deaths, 1,885 resolved)
• Nova Scotia: 1,026 confirmed (including 51 deaths, 909 resolved)
• Saskatchewan: 582 confirmed (including 6 deaths, 398 resolved)}
• Manitoba: 278 confirmed (including 7 deaths, 252 resolved), 11 presumptive
• Newfoundland and Labrador: 261 confirmed (including 3 deaths, 248 resolved)
• New Brunswick: 120 confirmed (including 118 resolved)
• Prince Edward Island: 27 confirmed (including 27 resolved)
• Repatriated Canadians: 13 confirmed (including 13 resolved)
• Yukon: 11 confirmed (including 11 resolved)
• Northwest Territories: 5 confirmed (including 5 resolved)
• Nunavut: No confirmed cases
Total: 73,401 (11 presumptive, 73,390 confirmed including 5,472 deaths, 36,104 resolved)
With files from The Canadian Press, Reuters
MORE TO COME …
LOCAL RESOURCES
Here are a number of information and landing pages for COVID-19 from various health and government agencies.
• B.C. COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool
• Vancouver Coastal Health – Information on Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
• HealthLink B.C. – Coronavirus (COVID-19) information page
• B.C. Centre for Disease Control – Novel coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Government of Canada – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Outbreak update
• World Health Organization – Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak
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