March 27, 2020 – 5:00pm

COVID-19 PANDEMIC UPDATE #9 – CITY OF NELSON

Nelson, BC – The City of Nelson would like to thank all residents and businesses for their ongoing efforts in reducing the potential for the spread of COVID-19 in our community. We understand this is difficult time for everyone. We are working hard at the City, and in particular, in our Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), to deal with the potential impacts of the virus. In addition to safely continuing to deliver the many important services the City provides, we are working with Interior Health (including Kootenay Lake Hospital), BC Housing, Emergency Management BC and numerous local not-for-profits and social assistance agencies. 

The EOC has been focused on providing the support that has been requested by the Province through yesterday’s Ministerial orders. This includes providing a list of facilities that could be used for either Interior Health or to serve the vulnerable population.

We have supported the development of the initial vulnerable population plan, which was led by our non-profits in consultation with BC Housing and Interior Health. We also continue to focus on how our workforce can continue to provide our services safely and effectively while adhering to the directives of Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry.

The City continues to communicate the importance of maintaining social distancing, staying home, self-isolation where required, and proper hand washing techniques. As Dr. Henry has explained, following the Provincial Orders for the next two to three weeks are critical in order to maintain the results we are seeing.

During the Provincial Health Authority news conference this morning, Dr. Henry was cautiously optimistic that the measures the Province is taking with social distancing and self-isolation may help flatten the curve. Health Minister Adrian Dix says that we cannot stop what we are doing and we must remain 100% committed. If you have any symptoms, you need to stay home; If you are required to self-isolate, you need to stay home; If you don’t have to go out, don’t. 

Community Video Message from Mayor Dooley – March 27, 2020 

Interior Health to Host Virtual Town Hall Friday, March 27 - 6:00pm to 7:30 p.m. PDT

With B.C.’s provincial health officer drawing large online crowds for her daily briefings on the state of COVID-19 cases in the province, the Interior Health Authority (IHA) is jumping on the train too.

From 6:00pm to 7:30 p.m. PDT on March 27, IHA Chief Medical Health Officer, Dr. Sue Pollock, the health authority’s president Susan Brown and Kelowna-Lake Country MLA Norm Letnick will host a virtual town hall meeting with residents from across the health authority to answer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Interior communities.

You can register by clicking this link

 The BC Government has provided the following information today:

COVID-19 Cases:

• Total cases in BC to date: 792
• in Vancouver Coastal Health - 391
• in Fraser Health - 262
• in Island Health - 57
• in Interior Health - 70
• in Northern Health - 12
• Total recovered cases in BC: 275
• Total fatalities in BC to date: 16
• Total cases in Canada to date: 4689
• Total fatalities in Canada to date: 53

 Physical Distancing has halved the spread of COVID-19 in BC
The following excerpt is from CBC News – March 27, 2020

 B.C. health officials believe physical distancing restrictions are successfully beginning to slow the number of new cases of COVID-19 in the province by half. However, officials said the province is not out of the woods and the health-care system still needs to be prepared for an inevitable surge in hospitalizations.

"I’m trying not to over-call it, but I do believe we’ve seen a flattening, a falling-off of that curve," Henry said, referring to the growth of new COVID-19 patients.

"We think that we’ve reduced that quite dramatically. What we need, though, is for everybody to continue to pay attention to these measures so we can continue to prevent transmissions in our communities ... for the coming weeks."

CBC Story…Read More

Closure Order Interior Health COVID-19:

 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic the Provincial Health Officer has issued an order which declares:

Effective immediately, businesses with Liquor Primary Licences, such as bars, and night clubs, AND Liquor Licence Endorsements, manufacturer onsite lounge or a manufacturer onsite tasting room, including wine and beer tasting rooms must CLOSE, as they are unable to adequately meet the requirements of social distancing.

Food primary restaurants AND any business that prepares and serves food and drink, including drinks with liquor, may only provide take out or delivery services, must have sufficient space to maintain a distance of more than 2 meters between people and must not have more than 50 people present at one time.

Grocery stores must limit the number of people that gather together to maintain social distancing of two meters between patrons; OR must conduct business where the public may only access the business briefly for the purpose of picking up items, or using delivery models.

Personal Service Establishments, like barbershops, salons, nail estheticians, health spas, massage parlours, tattoo shops and gyms must CLOSE as they are not able to adequately meet the requirements of social distancing.

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 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

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-19Media Contact:

Ginger Lester, EOC Information Officer glester@nelson.ca

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