B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry says B.C. has confirmed 83 new cases of COVID-19. Three more people have died of the novel coronavirus.
She says the province is declaring a public health emergency. B.C. has now identified a total of 186 patients, of whom seven have died.
As employees in the BC Public Service, we may have questions about COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). The BC Government is monitoring the ongoing situation and have developed a plan that will be appropriately stepped up as the risk level evolves.
The BC Public Service follows the lead of the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control, the Public Health Agency of Canada and any travel advisories issued by the Government of Canada. I encourage each of us to consult the information provided by these agencies for the most current public health information as the situation continues to evolve.
Dr. Bonnie Henry, public health officer for the province, has recently asked all British Columbians to “do their part to prevent the transmission of infections in our communities and in our health-care system.”
We are asked to continue maintaining good hygiene, including regular hand-washing, avoiding touching your face, coughing or sneezing into your elbow or sleeve and disposing of tissues appropriately, as the best way to avoid contracting or spreading respiratory illnesses. If you are sick, you should stay home using Short Term Illness and Injury Plan (STIIP). If you are experiencing symptoms of a cold, but feel you are still able to work, please have a conversation with your supervisor to consider if and how you may work remotely.
Sincerely,
Stephen Brown
Deputy Minister
Please join us to learn about and provide your feedback on near and long term goals and actions to reduce emissions in this region for transportation, buildings, and industry. Bold actions now will help us improve our air quality and achieve a carbon neutral region by 2050.
Current feedback opportunities are online webinars in February and questionnaires on Metro Vancouver’s website.
Local governments have been taking action on climate and air quality for decades but we need to do more. Your feedback is essential to ensure we are considering the biggest opportunities and the real challenges to meeting our targets.
Webinar Dates:
If you cannot attend these webinars, we would still like to hear your feedback. Please take a moment to fill out the Transportation, Industry or Buildings questionnaires.
Feedback from these webinars and questionnaires will support development of the Clean Air Plan and Climate 2050, which will drive regional policies to reduce emissions
For more info, please contact cleanairplan@metrovancouver.org or call 604-432-6200.
The KidsBoostImmunity program is now being utilized across Scotland.
KBI was recently featured on STV news, including an interview with an S1 teacher at Leith Academy and Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Catherine Calderwood.
You can watch the clip here:
https://twitter.com/NHSImmuniseScot/status/1214537090811285504
We are asking PHABC members to consider:
English: https://petitions.ourcommons.ca/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-2302
French: https://petitions.noscommunes.ca/fr/Petition/Details?Petition=e-2302
Any Canadian citizen or resident can sign (no age minimum), even if you are living abroad. It only takes 2 minutes.