BC's Health Minister Adrian Dix gives us the latest on COVID-19
Darpan News Desk Darpan, 25 May, 2020 10:31 PM
With challenging COVID-19 times and a strong possibility of a second wave of the novel coronavirus, Darpan's social media host Ish Sharma spoke to BC Health Minister Adrian Dix regarding testing for COVID19, PPE shortage, opening of schools, long term care home outbreaks, and cancellation of surgeries.
Canada could see the end of the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic before autumn, according to federal projections, but only if strong physical distancing measures are strictly maintained the whole time. Even in that best-case scenario, the federal public health agency projects that a total of 4,400 to 44,000 Canadians could die of COVID-19 in the coming months.
The Canadian economy lost an unprecedented one million jobs in March — the worst recorded single-month change — as the COVID-19 crisis began to take hold, lifting the unemployment rate to 7.8 per cent, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. The loss is eight times worse than the previous one-month record, yet economists warned it will likely be even worse in April, when the impact of physical distancing practices and other measures became clearer and millions of Canadians began receiving emergency federal aid.
B.C. Finance Minister Carole James says the province lost 132,000 jobs last month, but it's going to get worse before it gets better due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She says the latest Statistics Canada Labour Force numbers indicate B.C.'s jobless rate rose to 7.2 per cent from five per cent in March.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says while he hopes to spend some time with his family this Easter weekend, his focus is on getting new emergency aid legislation passed. He says discussions with opposition parties continue on the bill, which backs up the new wage subsidy program. Trudeau says it is important to debate the democratic processes that could be put in place in the COVID-19 era, which the opposition wants to have.
Libraries across British Columbia are getting $3 million to enhance their digital services.The Ministry of Education says the one-time investment will permit greater access to online learning and reading resources.
