Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. for June 8, 2020.
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Here’s your daily update with everything you need to know on the novel coronavirus situation in B.C. for June 8, 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 June 5:
• Total confirmed cases in B.C.: 2,632 (193 active cases)
• New cases since June 4, 2020: 1
• Hospitalized cases: 21
• Intensive care: 5
• COVID-19 related deaths: 167
• Recovered: 2,272
• Long-term care and assisted-living homes currently affected: 5
Eighty-seven per cent of British Columbians say Premier John Horgan’s government has done a good job handling the COVID-19 pandemic, according to recent poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute.
Only the provincial governments of New Brunswick (91 per cent) and Newfoundland and Labrador (89 per cent) garnered more support in the nationwide-poll that found that at least seven-in-ten residents in every region of the country believe their province has done a good job in handling COVID-19.
A majority of British Columbia (56 per cent) approve of the province’s reopening process, while 31 per cent think the restart of B.C. businesses and institutions is happening too quickly.
Canadian businesses continue to struggle with commercial rent, as the COVID-19 pandemic keeps its hold on the economy.
According to the latest Colliers Canada survey, about 16 per cent of Canadian commercial tenants did not make rent last month.
Of those who sought rent relief in April, 39 per cent did not make rent for May, while 19 per cent paid partial rent and 42 per cent were able to pay their rent in full.
9 a.m. – U.S. border rules loosening to allow family reunifications: Trudeau
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the ban on non-essential crossings of the U.S.-Canada border is being loosened slightly to allow some families to reunite.
Rules still require anyone entering the country to self-isolate for two weeks to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.
The border with the United States has been closed since March, except for goods and certain categories of essential workers.
Canadians always have a right to return to this country from abroad, but some families have been divided because of some of their members’ citizenship status.
Trudeau says details will come later today, but the measure is aimed at families with unusual circumstances, such as when one parent is not a citizen.
The current agreement with the United States expires June 21, but it has been extended twice already for a month at a time.
8:30 a.m. – Top doctor frets over Canadians’ higher consumption of alcohol, junk food during pandemic
Canada’s top health officer on Sunday expressed concern over higher consumption of alcohol and junk food during the coronavirus epidemic, suggesting this could be a sign of worsening mental health.
The total number of Canadians killed by the coronavirus edged up by 0.9% to 7,773 from 7,703 on Saturday, the public health agency said, further evidence that the worst of the pandemic has passed. The total number of cases rose to 95,057 from 94,335.
Canada’s 10 provinces are all gradually reopening their economies and relaxing restrictions on social gatherings. Unemployment though has soared to record levels amid widespread shutdowns and market analysts say it could take years for the economy to recover.
“I am concerned about Canadians’ mental health … more Canadians have increased their consumption of alcohol and junk food or sweets since the beginning of the pandemic,” chief public health officer Theresa Tam said in a statement.
Tam, citing the results of a recent Statistics Canada survey about the effects of the pandemic, said Canadians needed to make mental health a priority.
8 a.m. – The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada
There are 95,699 confirmed and presumptive cases in Canada.
A Vancouver-based drug repurposing company will conduct human trials on patients with acute lung injury in the U.S. and Canada.
Chris Moreau, CEO of Algernon Pharmaceuticals Inc., said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the company’s application on June 3 for a human study of its repurposed drug Ifenprodil as a potential therapeutic treatment for patients with COVID-19.
Moreau said a doctor-led human trial of the drug was about to start in South Korea, but the planned trial in Canada, the U.S. and possibly Australia would be larger and led by Algernon and participating research hospitals.
Ifenprodil is a generic drug developed in the early 1970s and approved for human use in Japan and South Korea to treat neurological conditions like vertigo. Algernon has filed a method of use patent on the drug and now has exclusive rights.
Moreau said that in early March the company found a Chinese study of Ifenprodil on mice infected with the H5N1 virus — the world’s most lethal flu — that showed improved survivability and reduced lung injury, particularly with the cytokine storm that leads to the loss of lung function among COVID-19 infected patients.
“If we see Ifenprodil acting this way in an animal study for H5N1 we may expect to see similar results in a human study for COVID,” he said.
Moreau said the phase two human trial would be among 100 COVID-19 patients in acute-care settings in research hospitals in Canada and the U.S. and was expected to start within two months.
More to come.
LOCAL RESOURCES
Here are a number of information and landing pages for COVID-19 from various health and government agencies.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
