BC Today – Daily Report August 18, 2020

Quotation of the day

“This pandemic that we are all tired of — so very tired of — will be going on ... through 2021, into 2022.”

Health Minister Adrian Dix warns that the coronavirus pandemic is here to stay. ​ ​

Today in B.C.

On the schedule The house is adjourned for the summer.

Premier watch ICYMI: Premier John Premier got a bhangra lesson from Gurdeep Pandher, a dance teacher ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ based in the Yukon who visited the BC legislature on Friday.

Legislature staff and members of the Victoria Police Department also received some instruction from Pandher.

Masks will be part of new school routine for middle, secondary schools Students and staff at B.C.’s middle and secondary schools — typically grades 6 through 12 — will be required to wear masks in “high traffic areas” such as school buses and hallways, the education ministry confirmed yesterday.

Masks will also be required any time students are “outside of their learning group whenever physical distancing cannot be maintained,” but exemptions will be granted to kids who cannot wear a mask for medical reasons.

The province had been teasing the release of its student-masking plan for weeks; it remains less strict than masking rules in other provinces, like Ontario.

The government will purchase 1.5 million masks as part of its back-to-school prep — enough for every student and public-school staff member to receive two masks each. Face shields will also be available in some cases. Canadian Shield has committed to donating 54,000 face shields for use in B.C. schools.

Even when masking is required, students will still be encouraged to keep their distance from people outside of their learning group and “efforts will be put in place” to avoid cross-group “crowding, gathering and congregating.”

Dr. Reka Gustafson — B.C.’s deputy provincial health officer — said she is “pleased” with all ​ the effort being put in to ensure the return to school is being done safely.

As for why the province has not made masks mandatory in classrooms, Dr. Gustafson said that is because masking is “quite low on the hierarchy of protections from COVID-19.”

“That’s why … when we recommend them, they are limited to the settings where … the other control methods cannot be used,” she said. “We know that the most efficient way of preventing COVID-19 is to make sure that you stay at home if you are sick.”

Schools will be also implementing increased cleaning and hand hygiene protocols. Some may also be installing transparent barriers in buses, cafeterias and administrative offices.

Topics of conversation

● B.C. reported 48 new cases of Covid-19 on Monday. There were 743 active cases (up 114) with four people in hospital (down eight), three of them critical. Two new deaths were reported, pushing the provincial total to 198.

○ On Saturday, the province confirmed 100 new cases — the highest single-day case increase in B.C. ○ Across the province, 2,286 people have been directed to self-isolate after coming into close contact with a confirmed Covid case. ○ Ten of the new cases in Northern Health are linked to a prayer meeting in ​ ​ Deadwood, Alberta, that was held between July 30 to August 2. ○ Two new health-care facility outbreaks were declared at Czorny Alzheimer Centre in Fraser Health and at the Arbutus Care Centre in Vancouver Coastal Health. The outbreak at the Joseph and Rosalie Segal Family Health Centre was declared over. In total, nine long-term care or assisted-living facilities and one acute-care facility had active outbreaks. ○ Several bars, restaurants and nightclubs have closed in the wake of exposure events on their premises, according to Health Minister Adrian Dix. Affected ​ ​ establishments include the Pierre’s Champagne Lounge, West Oak Restaurant, and the Ivy Lounge in the Trump Hotel in Vancouver — the trio account for “a significant number of cases,” according to Dix.

● On the docket: Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth will make an announcement soon ​ ​ about the enforcement of public health orders and “stricter penalties” for businesses that are found to be flouting them.

● The ongoing legislative committee review of the Personal Information and Privacy Act is ​ ​ “an opportune time to address the shortcomings” of the legislation, according to a joint ​ ​ submission from the BC Civil Liberties Association, BC Government and Service Employees’ Union and Canadian Civil Liberties Association. ○ Committee members should ensure the law is up to speed with “rapidly changing local and global privacy protection standards” and consider an education push around privacy rights and responsibilities. ○ The submission also flags a need to deal with “the legislative gap” that allows “private entities to exercise public functions while displaying a lack of transparency on how personal information is collected, used, and disclosed.” ○ Submissions to the committee closed last week. Its report is due by February 2021.

● Forty per cent of British Columbians are “infection fighters,” according to a survey from ​ ​ Angus Reid, meaning they are unlikely to engage in behaviours that can spread COVID-19 — such as refusing to wear a mask, not physical distancing or not washing their hands. ○ Across Canada, 47 per cent of people are considered “infection fighters” with Ontario and Quebec seeing the highest concentration. ○ On the opposite end of the spectrum are “cynical spreaders” — people who “disregard most, if not all, COVID-19 safety precautions.” About 18 per cent of

British Columbians fall into this category, the same percentage as Canada as a whole. ○ People in the Prairie provinces are the most likely to behave as “cynical spreaders” with 28 to 30 per cent of respondents falling into that category.

News briefs

Police Act review will enter stakeholder consultation phase this fall ​ ● The Special Committee on Reforming the Police Act will be taking “a phased approach” to its review of the legislation. Following a technical briefing on the act, the committee is seeking input from experts, community advocates and Indigenous communities to round out the first phase of its work. ○ The second phase — set to take place through the winter and into next spring — will involve public consultations. The committee’s report is due by May 14, 2021.

Temporary crisis supplement extended into December ● The $300 temporary crisis supplement for social assistance recipients and seniors implemented in April has been extended. Eligible recipients will receive the additional payment on support cheques through December 16, per the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction.

Funding announcements

● Thirteen First Nations communities in B.C. will receive almost $2.8 million from the British Columbia Indigenous Clean Energy Initiative (BCICEI), a joint ​ federal-provincial funding program that supports the development of clean energy generation projects. The Tsleil-Waututh Nation plans to use $150,000 from the fund to install a solar ​ ​ photovoltaic power system. ○ Six First Nations communities in the Interior will share $1.15 million in funding; four coastal First Nations communities will get $486,000; and two First Nations in the northeast will receive $1 million.

● The $2-million Arts Infrastructure Program will help arts and culture organizations buy ​ ​ new equipment and improve their spaces. Applicants can receive up to $75,000 to improve arts and culture spaces or $40,000 to buy special equipment to support arts programming. ○ Applications are open until October 19.