Since Monday was a holiday I am doing the weekly numbers update today. As you can see from the above chart, BC is continuing to see significant increases in our weekly total new case numbers. This past week total has seen an increase of 21.7% from the previous week’s total. This acceleration of new cases is likely what has led to Public Health Officer Bonnie Henry to take recent steps, detailed below.
Effective today for all of BC:
- All nightclubs and stand-alone banquet halls are ordered closed until further notice.
- Liquor sales in all bars, pubs and restaurants must cease at 10 p.m. and they must close at 11 p.m., unless providing a full meal service, in which case they may stay open, but may not serve liquor until 11 a.m. the following day.
- Music or other background sounds, such as from televisions in bars, lounges, pubs and restaurants, must be no louder than the volume of normal conversation.
I would now like to call back to the new modelling data that the BC CDC released on September 3rd. Please see the image below:
Based on the above chart we can see that over the course of a little over a week there were approximately 172 transmissions of COVID-19 specifically linked back to restaurants, bars, and lounges. These are the specific cases being targeted with today’s new restrictions. Keeping in mind that in many cases these transmissions can lead to the “household transmissions” shown in red in the chart above as well.
In other news, one of the world’s leading COVID-19 vaccine candidates’ trials has been put on hold pending an investigation into an unexplained illness contracted by one of the people in the study. It’s important to remember that in large studies like this one, it is not unusual for 1 of ~30,000 people to become unexpectedly sick at any point. At this time there is no reason to believe that it represents a serious problem with the vaccine candidate, but as a matter of safety it is being investigated as part of a routine precaution. More info can be found here.
We have also learned that the Tla’amin Nation on the Sunshine Coast has just declared a state of emergency and issued a shelter-at-home order. This order affects all 1,100 of their people, and will last the next 72hrs. This move came after an outbreak of COVID-19 was discovered. Currently 4 people have tested positive for the virus. More info can be found here.
On a more personal note, if you are finding yourself in a dark place with all the negative news lately, I highly recommend going to see the new movie Bill & Ted Face the Music. It’s not going to win any major awards, but it may help lift your spirits a bit.
That’s all for now, stay safe everyone!
BC COVID-19 Info 