100 cases of COVID-19 recorded for Wednesday, Premier outlines fall pandemic plan including expansive health care hiring program

Premier Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix and BC's Public Health Officer
Dr. Bonnie Henry outlined the fall pandemic plan today
(BC Gov't photo)

Today provided both a look at the current level of COVID-19 in British Columbia, as well as a glimpse as to how the province plans to handle the twin concerns of the ongoing COVID situation and  the annual flu virus expected this fall.

The breakdown came by way of two reports, one the fall pandemic plan delivered by Premier John Horgan, the current update a Wednesday statement from Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix. 

Their daily overview made note of 100 new cases, marking much the same territory as the last week or so,  with no new epi-linked cases, making for a total of 6,691 cases in British Columbia. 

There are 1,378 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, 3,101 people who are under active public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases and 5,086 people who tested positive have recovered. 

Currently, 37 individuals are hospitalized with COVID-19, 15 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation. 

Across the provincial Health Authorities the numbers to date are as follows:

2,285 cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 3,482 in the Fraser Health region, 185 in the Island Health region, 462 in the Interior Health region, 193 in the Northern Health region, that number an increase of seven from Tuesday. 

84 cases of COVID have been recorded in people who reside outside of Canada. 

Dr. Henry and Minister Dix shared the podium today with Premier Horgan as the province outlined its fall approach for the annual flu vaccine period, all while holding attention on the ongoing COVID issues.

 “This fall and winter, we will be facing two health challenges – the usual respiratory season as well as COVID-19. What this means is that we have to put measures in place now to ensure our health-care centres, communities and all of us are ready for what may be ahead. “Our community well-being is about ensuring we maintain our health and our economy. We need both to keep our communities and all of us resilient and strong." 

Today, Premier John Horgan announced B.C.’s fall pandemic plan. The plan is focusing on protecting our most vulnerable citizens and ensuring our health-care system has the necessary resources in place."

The fall plan includes an expansive hiring program, with the government set to fill positions in long term care and Assisted living residences.

The Government of B.C. is dedicating $44.1 million to launch the Health Career Access Program and recruit an estimated 7,000 health-care workers in long-term care homes and assisted-living facilities throughout the province. 

The program will provide a path for approximately 3,000 applicants who may not previously have had health-care experience to receive on-the-job training. New hires in the program will start in a health-care support worker position and receive paid training that leads to full qualification as a health-care assistant“ It’s anticipated that up to 7,000 health-care workers will be hired this fall and winter. We’re looking to people who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19, particularly those who were employed in the hospitality industry. They understand service. They understand the importance of treating people as individuals and they know it’s essential to treat people with respect and dignity. Those critical core skills, with our specialized training, will provide them with a rewarding, well-paying career that will make a significant and positive impact on our health-care system and the seniors who rely on it.” --

Premier John Horgan

To further protect vulnerable British Columbians, the Province is providing $374 million to bolster public health measures, including significantly building out the fall flu immunization campaign. As part of this, 45,000 Fluzone-High Dose immunizations will be made available to all long-term care and assisted living residents. Fluzone-High Dose is a higher dose vaccine designed specifically to protect people over 65 from influenza. An additional 450,000 influenza vaccine doses will be made available in the 2020-21 influenza season, for a total of approximately two million doses. 

 “The COVID-19 pandemic makes it more important than ever to protect yourself and your family from influenza. By getting immunized against influenza, you’re protecting yourself and those who are vulnerable to complications from the flu. Staying healthy also helps to reduce strain on our health-care system as we deal with COVID-19. Getting the flu shot is safe and effective, and this year more than ever, I ask everyone who can to get a flu shot.” -- Dr. Bonnie Henry, BC Provincial Health Officer

The full scope of the fall pandemic program can be reviewed here.

You can review the full COVID-19 report for Wednesday here.    

The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.

You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, those past advisories  can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee

Ottawa Observations

Victoria Viewpoints 

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.