Monday July 6, 2020 ~ VICTORIA, BC
by Mary Brooke, B.Sc., editor ~ West Shore Voice News
“I’ve been incredibly impressed by youth in British Columbia and how they have responded, and the resilience that they’re showing and the caring for their community,” said BC Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry today.
That was part of Dr Henry’s response to a question from West Shore Voice News reporter Meaghan Power today during the COVID-19 media teleconference in Victoria with Dr Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.
The question posed by reporter Meaghan Power was: “How do you feel that youth in BC have responded to the COVID-19 message about physical distancing and avoiding group activities? Do you feel the seriousness of the disease has become recognized by youth?”
While Dr Henry spoke highly of youth overall, she did not address the aspect of how many youth and young adults have perhaps thought themselves not as susceptible to COVID-19 infection (given the emphasis on elders being the most vulnerable demographic).
She instead turned to the social responsiveness of youth in BC during what we now know was likely just the first wave of the pandemic during March through to May.
Young people are community minded:
“Most young people are very community minded,” said Dr Henry. This is a difficult time for young people. The uncertainty — particularly if you’re graduating from high school this year — it was not the experience you might have wanted,” said BC’s top doctor.
Most high schools held adapted graduation ceremonies .. some in very small groups, some doing drive-bys, decorating or putting up signage outdoors in the community, and others with virtual celebrations online (or combinations and variations).
“So I have a lot of empathy for young people and what you’re going through. If you’re starting university and suddenly everything has gone online. You’re not sure what your job prospects are. These are very challenging times.”
“Young people are social people in ways that are challenging to curtail sometimes,” said Dr Henry, adding that “the vast majority of young people in BC and across Canada are taking this very seriously”. She said she feels that you are “seeing what’s happening to their families and their communities, and they’re being respectful of each other”.
COVID-19 is a serious illness:
Anecdotally we hear that youth think COVID-19 is something like the flu or a bad cold and that they won’t have a serious time of it. In large part this could be attributed to BC’s public health messaging that the societal response to COVID-19 is to protect elders and people with underlying health issues.
BC’s public health approach may so far have fallen short on adequately advising youth to follow physical distancing, given the crowds seen in parks and at beaches on weekends and very few face masks in use in retail, business and social settings.
Dr Henry herself said today: “Even young healthy people can get very sick with this. If you have lots of people sick, the young people can get very sick. Some have died recently.”
COVID-19 stats in BC at July 6:
The COVID-19 case count in BC went up by 31 in the last three days (Friday to Saturday 9, Saturday to Sunday 15, and Sunday to Monday 7).
Of the total 2,978 cases in BC, 127 (4.2%) are among children and teens (49 under age 10, and 78 in the age 10 to 19 group). In the 20 to 29 year age group there have been 355 cases (11.9%).
Perhaps the least highlighted impact is on the demographic of age 50 to 59… older but not senior. In that grouping there have been 544 test-positive cases of COVID-19 (18.3%).
Fully one-third of cases (33.2%) have been experienced in the broad group called ‘seniors and elders’, that tally being 990 cases (342 in ages 60 to 69, 264 in ages 70 to 79, 238 in ages 80 to 89, and 146 in ages 89+).
There were six more deaths due to COVID-19 in BC during July 4 to 6, all of them among residents of long-term care facilities; that brings the COVID-19 death tally in this province to 183 (6.1% of cases).
===== LINKS:
BC Centre for Disease Control – COVID-19 statistics (current updates)
Cardiovascular responses in children due to COVID-19 (May 16, 2020)
SD62 earns A-plus with shift to more integral grad recognition (May 22, 2020)
===== WEST SHORE VOICE NEWS:
This summer, recent Grade 12 graduate Meaghan Power has joined West Shore Voice News as a reporter.