Thursday January 14, 2021 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke, editor | Island Social Trends
Today Premier John Horgan says he and his cabinet have already met for two days this week, and after his media session this morning went right back into another two days of an ongoing cabinet meeting.
This was the premier’s first media availability since doing year-end interviews with various TV and radio media before Christmas. He echoed the sentiments of many saying that he’s glad the year 2020 is behind us. “I look forward to 2021 with enthusiasm,” said Horgan, noting that vaccines developed to protect people from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (aka COVID-19) are on the horizon. “We know that light is there at the end of the tunnel,” he said in his opening remarks.
As of yesterday 64,430 people have been vaccinated in BC. Those vaccine recipients are mostly residents and workers in long-term care as well as front-line health care workers and people in rural, remote and Indigenous communities.
The “most vulnerable in our society” are at the front of the queue, the premier said today. More details on the vaccination priority and logistical rollout will be presented by Premier Horgan, Health Minister Adrian Dix, and Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry next week, he said. Earlier this week Dr Henry said “we’ve been looking a how to plan for a massive scale-up”, as more vaccines arrive from the federally-secured supply.
Big issues are on the table during the ongoing COVID pandemic, including vaccination rollout (with aspects of prioritization among the population, logistical delivery and dose administration including health-care personnel skill and availability, and supply negotiations with the federal government)
There is also the longstanding opioid overdose health emergency to grapple with, Premier Horgan said today. He highlighted the importance of continuing his government’s focus on child care to support the economy. The affordability aspect of housing is going to be “front and center” in the BC government’s second term, the premier declared today.
Legal input around inter-provincial travel:
Today the Premier also mentioned that he will be receiving legal input “later this week” around the issue of requiring quarantine for people arriving from outside of BC (including from other provinces across Canada). Currently someone can be travelling from one of the intense COVID hot spots (like Ontario or Alberta), and just get off the plane and head straight to a business meeting or into the community.
Media have been inquiring on this matter for weeks if not months. Part of the response so far is that in Canada it’s one of our rights to be able to travel anywhere in Canada. Hence the need for legal input, as to mobility rights under the Canadian Charter of Rights as well as provincial opportunities and authority to enforce any sort of inter-provincial travel restrictions that might be imposed.
As many people and enterprises do business across provincial lines, there are commercial aspects to consider as well. Political ramifications would stem from any decisions or restrictions with regard to inter-provincial travel.
Travel as an instigator of COVID spread:
People travelling between regions or countries has been highlighted from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic last year as the primary source of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
BC has been discouraging any travel that is non-essential. In fact, people are encouraged to stay home and work from home if they can during this intense second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
To date there have been 59,072 test-positive cases of COVID-19 in BC during the pandemic with 4,810 of those currently active (360 in hospital, with 76 of those in critical care or ICU).
State of Emergency in BC:
A state of emergency was declared in BC on March 18, 2020 which was the very next day after the COVID-19 health emergency was wrapped in a declaration of pandemic in BC. The state of emergency has been renewed in BC every two weeks since then, and is currently in effect to the end of day on January 19, 2021.
The state of emergency allows the Province to continue to use extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act to support the COVID-19 pandemic response.
