March 31, 2020 – 5:15pm
COVID-19 PANDEMIC UPDATE #10 – CITY OF NELSON
NOTE: Premier John Horgan will hold a press briefing on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at 6:15pm PDT.
Nelson, BC – In today’s provincial update, Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry reported that there are now 1013 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the province with 107 in the Interior Health Region. Yesterday, there were 94 cases in the interior with 13 new cases being reported today.
Dr. Henry has indicated the province is investigating the first large community outbreak involving temporary foreign workers at a plant nursery in West Kelowna. She did not provide the numbers of affected individuals in this outbreak, at this time.
Dr. Henry also stated that BC is in the “critical part” of the first wave of COVID-19 infections, which is expected to last several more weeks. Health Minister Dix said that is unlikely that we will see a reprieve before summer.
The City of Nelson would like to thank everyone for doing their important part in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in our community. We need to remain vigilant in following provincial guidance of staying home, washing your hands frequently, and social distancing at least 2 metres. It is important that any unnecessary travel is eliminated and that only one person from your home does the grocery shopping.
The BC Government has provided the following information today:
COVID-19 Cases:
- Total cases in BC to date: 1,013
- 476 in Vancouver Coastal Health
- 348 in Fraser Health
- 67 in Island Health
- 107 in Interior Health
- 15 in Northern Health
- Total recovered cases in BC: 507
- Total fatalities in BC to date: 24
- Total cases in Canada to date: 8,612
- Total fatalities in Canada to date: 107
Please note the following operational updates:
Doing Business at City Hall: The City of Nelson staff continue to provide a high level of service to the residents of Nelson during this pandemic. The majority of City business, including all bill payments, can be done online at www.nelson.ca or by telephone (250) 352-5511.
Residents are able to: - Make a bill payment over the phone with a credit card (including garbage tags that can be mailed to your home)
- Use the secure drop-box in front of City Hall. Please put the payment (cash or cheque) into an envelope with bill stub or account information written on the envelope.
To make a payment or general inquiries:
(250) 352-8206 Hydro Billing: hydroclerk@nelson.ca City Hall Reception: reception@nelso
*Garbage & recycling pickup will continue to be performed on regularly scheduled days.
Public Works:
The City of Nelson has closed off the skatepark and will be placing signage with the following messaging:
No Open Burning in Nelson:
The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in collaboration with provincial public health partners has restricted open burning in parts of the province, including Nelson. As a result, there will be no spring backyard burn period in Nelson this year. For more information and the media release click here.
Nelson Food Banks Looking for Donations:
As Covid-19 continues to impact our community, Nelson’s food banks are working to protect our most vulnerable neighbours. Over the past month, while most businesses are seeing a decline in customers, food banks are seeing an increase in need. For more information and places to donate to our local food banks click here.
________________________________________________________________________________
Reminders:
To help provide important information to our community, the City of Nelson has developed a dedicated webpage nelson.ca/covid19 that will be updated frequently as new information becomes available. Please sign-up for ‘City News’ on NotifyMe to receive automatic updates from the City via text or email.
The City of Nelson relies on Interior Health, BC Public Health, and the Federal Government for information related to the virus itself. If you believe you are exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, please contact your physician, or call the COVID-19 telephone line at 1-888-COVID19, to be assessed or call the testing clinic hotline at (250) 551-7500 to be triaged for testing. Symptoms of COVID-19 include coughing, fever, sore throat, and difficulty breathing. These symptoms may not present themselves for up to 14 days, but you may be a carrier of the virus; therefore it is important to follow the guidelines set out by the health experts.
To check your symptoms or get updates from the BC Government you can download the BC COVID-19 App or visit this website
News and information about the spread of COVID-19 is coming at us quickly. It can be hard to remain calm given all that is going on. Stress, anxiety, and depression are not unusual for people of all ages. But there are things we can do as individuals and collectively to deal with stress and support one another during these challenging times. Visit the managing stress website here.
If You Need Help HealthLink BC provides 24/7, confidential health information and advice.
Call 8-1-1 www.healthlinkbc.ca
We thank you for doing your part to help maintain a safe and healthy community and for understanding the importance of this evolving situation.
Information from the BC Center for Disease Control on COVID-19
Media Contact:
Ginger Lester, EOC Information Officer glester@nelson.ca
####