Friday, October 15, 2021

Local Gov't Mtgs - Week of Oct 18-22, 2021

The following local governments/Boards of Education of the Cariboo-Chilcotin will be meeting the week of October 18-22, 2021, as follows:

Quesnel - Meetings as noted below:

1) Public Hearing re: 319, 375 and 383 North Fraser Drive (Quesnel Tillicum Society) to commence at 6pm on Tuesday, October 19th in Quesnel Council Chambers (4th Floor, 410 Kinchant St).  Full Agenda and supporting documents can be viewed here

2) Regular Council Meeting - to follow the above noted Public Hearing of October 19th.  On the Agenda:

* Quesnel City Staff Retirement Presentations: Lewis Gehl, Narinder Phangura and Dave Rollo 
* Committee Reports 

* Business License & Regulation Amendment Bylaw No. 1910 of 2021 
* Quesnel Community Forest Update 
* Community Resiliency Investment Grant Application 
* Forestry Manufacturing Analysis Update 
* Development Permit #2021-35 Eagle Homes Hardware – New Warehouse (172 Reid St) 
* Development Permit #2021-38 Hwy 97 N Icon Homes – Install Show Home 
* 2022 Annual Council Meeting Schedule (For Approval) 

View the full Agenda here

School District #28 (Quesnel) -- Regular Board of Education Meeting on Wednesday, October 20th at 7pm.  When available, the Agenda can be viewed here

Williams Lake - Regular Council Meeting on Tuesday, October 19th at 6pm.  On the Agenda:

* Delegation: Massimo Calabrese re Update on Success of Paradise Cinemas COVID-19 Drop-In Vaccination Clinics and Request for Continued Support

* CJ's Southwestern Grill - Application for Lounge Endorsement
* NDIT Grant Application - 2022 Business Façade Improvement Program
* Downtown Revitalization Tax Exemption Agreement - 1236420 BC Ltd. (Woodland Jewellers) - 150 Oliver Street
* 2021 Four Cylinder SUV/MPV/Crossover - Award of Tender

View the full Agenda here

Cariboo Regional District - Meetings as noted below in the Cariboo Regional District Williams Lake Boardroom (180D North 3rd Avenue, Williams Lake).  Meetings are to be audio livestreamed on the day of the meeting

1) Finance/Budget Committee -- Meeting on Thursday, Oct 21st at 9:30am.  On the Agenda:

* Review of 2022 Draft Regional District Budgets
* Report of the CFO re: 2022 Budget

View the full Agenda here

2) Committee of the Whole -- Meeting on Thursday, Oct 21st at 1pm.  On the Agenda:

* Presentation: BGC Engineering re: Flood Hazards Assessment
* Verbal Report from Mgr of Planning Services re: Heritage Advisory Committee
* In-Camera Session as per Section 90(1i - legal advice) of the Community Charter

View the full Agenda here

3) Cariboo-Chilcotin Regional Hospital District (CCRHD) -- Meeting on Friday, Oct 22nd at 9:30am.  On the Agenda:

* Hospital Consent Calendar

View the full Agenda here

4) Cariboo Regional District -- Meeting on Friday, Oct 22nd upon recess or adjournment of the CCRHD Board meeting.  On the Agenda:

* Planning (Land Use) Matters
* Miocene Community Hall - Community Works Funding application
* Request for Director Emergency Pay Approval - Area "L" Director W. Macdonald
* 2022 Board Meeting Schedule - Approval
* Consent Calendar
* Committee Minutes and Recommendations, for Endorsement
* Forest Grove Property Tax Exemption Bylaw - For 3 Readings/Adoption
* Board Procedure Bylaw - For 3 Readings/Adoption
* In-Camera Session -- Sections 90 (1e/g - land and litigation) of the Community Charter

View the full Agenda here

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October 15th, 2021 BC #COVID-19 Pandemic Update

Courtesy of the Government of BC:

As of Friday, Oct. 15, 2021, 89.0% (4,126,668) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 83.0% (3,848,689) received their second dose.

In addition, 89.5% (3,870,725) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 83.7% (3,621,151) received their second dose.

B.C. is reporting 667 new cases of COVID-19, including two epi-linked cases, for a total of 196,433 cases in the province.

There are 5,128 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 188,851 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 367 individuals are in hospital and 152 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Note: Intensive care numbers are a subset of the total in hospital. They are not in addition to the number of people in hospital.

The new/active cases include:

  • 246 new cases in Fraser Health
    • Total active cases: 2,221
  • 75 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
    • Total active cases: 724
  • 101 new cases in Interior Health
    • Total active cases: 817
  • 184 new cases in Northern Health
    • Total active cases: 734
  • 59 new cases in Island Health
    • Total active cases: 572
  • two new cases of people who reside outside of Canada
    • Total active cases: 60

In the past 24 hours, 13 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,055.

The new deaths include:

  • Fraser Health: 11
  • Interior Health: two

Note: The deaths at Willingdon Care Centre are reflected in today’s numbers.

There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at GR Baker Memorial Hospital (Northern Health). The outbreak at Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre (Fraser Health) has been declared over, for a total of 19 active outbreaks, including:

  • long-term care:
    • Willingdon Care Centre, Westminster House, Magnolia Gardens, Manoah Manor, Cherington Place, West Shore Laylum (Fraser Health);
    • Cottonwoods Care Centre, Joseph Creek Care Village, Overlander, Village by the Station, Haven Hill Retirement Centre (Interior Health); and
    • Wrinch Memorial Hospital (Northern Health).
  • acute care:
    • Mission Memorial Hospital (Fraser Health);
    • University Hospital of Northern BC, GR Baker Memorial Hospital (Northern Health); and
    • Tofino General Hospital (Island Health).
  • assisted or independent living:
    • Sunset Manor, Evergreen Manor (Fraser Health); and
    • Cooper Place (Vancouver Coastal Health).

From Oct. 7-13, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 68.3% of cases and from Sept. 30-Oct. 13, they accounted for 76.3% of hospitalizations.

Past week cases (Oct. 7-13) – Total 4,019

  • Not vaccinated: 2,478 (61.7%)
  • Partially vaccinated: 265 (6.6%)
  • Fully vaccinated: 1,276 (31.7%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Sept. 30-Oct. 13) – Total 439

  • Not vaccinated: 312 (71.1%)
  • Partially vaccinated: 23 (5.2%)
  • Fully vaccinated: 104 (23.7%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Oct. 7-13)

  • Not vaccinated: 273.3
  • Partially vaccinated: 76.2
  • Fully vaccinated: 30.4

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Sept. 30-Oct. 13)

  • Not vaccinated: 51.3
  • Partially vaccinated: 10.4
  • Fully vaccinated: 2.3

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 8,025,356 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

Learn More:

For new regional restrictions in the Northern Health region, visit:
http://news.gov.bc.ca/stories/additional-health-measures-introduced-to-stop-covid-spread-and-protect-health-services-for-most-of-n

For information on a third dose for people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register#immunocompromised

As they become available, information on school outbreaks will be posted online: www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures

For surgical renewal commitment progress reports, visit:

To learn about how B.C. counts its daily COVID-19 cases in hospitals, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0058-001844

To learn about the BC Vaccine Card and how to access yours, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/vaccinecard.html

For the Aug. 12, 2021, announcement on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for long-term care workers, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/25143

For information on breakthrough cases, see the BC Centre for Disease Control's (BCCDC) weekly data summary: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data#summary

Detailed data is posted daily on the BCCDC dashboard: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data
Or: www.bccdc.ca

To register to be immunized or to learn about getting your second dose, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register
Or: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/dose-2

For the provincial health officer’s orders and guidance, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

For guidance on restrictions, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions

The latest updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and to find a testing centre near you: http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.

For COVID-19 exposure events, updates and information, visit:

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City of WL Aquatic Vegetation Harvester Ready for Use

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

City staff will begin clearing undesired vegetation from the shoreline of Williams Lake early next week at key access points throughout the lake.

Operators spent the week on the water in a series of test runs of the refurbished lake harvesting vessel, which was purchased by the City last summer.

Vegetation harvesting will commence on Monday, October 18, 2021 at four areas of the lake: the Scout Island beach, the Scout Island and Dutch Point boat launches, and within the vicinity of the aerodrome along the lake’s north shore used for float plane landing.

The City has been issued a two-year permit from the Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development to operate the harvester from October 18 until freeze up. Future lake harvesting areas would require further discussions with the ministry – something the City plans to pursue.

Under the permit, City crews have also worked with trained professionals to ensure proper handling of western painted turtles living in the lake, should they be encountered.

“The City has worked with the Province and relevant stakeholders, including local First Nations and the Williams Lake Field Naturalists, to ensure the process has an extremely limited impact on the lake environment,” says Chief Administrative Officer Gary Muraca. “Williams Lake City Council is excited to get this project up and running, and has been extremely supportive throughout the process.”

Once vegetation has been harvested it will be unloaded at the Scout Island boat launch ramp, prior to being transferred to the Williams Lake landfill.

The City views the lake vegetation harvesting as a positive step toward improving boating and swimming safety, as well as its ability to attract visitors to the area.

For more information contact Matt Sutherland, Manager of Public Works, at msutherland@williamslake.ca or 250-392-1781.

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Thursday, October 14, 2021

October 14th, 2021 BC #COVID-19 Pandemic Update

Courtesy of the Government of BC:

Editor's Note -- there is a connected "Circuit Breaker" restriction event for the vast majority of the Northern Health Authority area.  Full details here

As of Thursday, Oct. 14, 2021, 89.0% (4,123,354) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 82.9% (3,842,247) have received their second dose.

In addition, 89.4% (3,867,728) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 83.6% (3,615,342) have received their second dose.

B.C. is reporting 580 new cases of COVID-19, including 11 epi-linked cases, for a total of 195,766 cases in the province.

There are 5,348 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and 187,985 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 378 individuals are in hospital and 153 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Note: Intensive care numbers are a subset of the total in hospital. They are not in addition to the number of people in hospital.

The new/active cases include:

  • 246 new cases in Fraser Health
    • Total active cases: 2,449
  • 53 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
    • Total active cases: 708
  • 104 new cases in Interior Health
    • Total active cases: 831
  • 129 new cases in Northern Health
    • Total active cases: 677
  • 48 new cases in Island Health
    • Total active cases: 625
  • No new cases of people who reside outside of Canada
    • Total active cases: 58

In the past 24 hours, nine new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,042.

The new deaths include:

  • Vancouver Coastal Health: one
  • Interior Health: five
  • Northern Health: one
  • Island Health: two

There have been no new health-care facility outbreaks, for a total of 19 active outbreaks, including:

  • long-term care:
    • Willingdon Care Centre, Westminster House, Magnolia Gardens, Manoah Manor, Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre, Cherington Place, West Shore Laylum (Fraser Health);
    • Cottonwoods Care Centre, Joseph Creek Care Village, Overlander, Village by the Station, Haven Hill Retirement Centre (Interior Health); and
    • Wrinch Memorial Hospital (Northern Health).
  • acute care:
    • Mission Memorial Hospital (Fraser Health);
    • University Hospital of Northern BC (Northern Health); and
    • Tofino General Hospital (Island Health).
  • assisted or independent living:
    • Sunset Manor, Evergreen Manor (Fraser Health); and
    • Cooper Place (Vancouver Coastal Health).

From Oct. 6-12, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 66.9% of cases.
From Sept. 29-Oct. 12, they accounted for 75.0% of hospitalizations.

Past week cases (Oct. 6-12) – Total 4,052

  • Not vaccinated: 2,441 (60.2%)
  • Partially vaccinated: 270 (6.7%)
  • Fully vaccinated: 1,341 (33.1%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Sept. 29-Oct. 12) – Total 456

  • Not vaccinated: 319 (70.0%)
  • Partially vaccinated: 23 (5.0%)
  • Fully vaccinated: 114 (25.0%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Oct. 6-12)    

  • Not vaccinated: 267.3
  • Partially vaccinated: 76.6
  • Fully vaccinated: 32.0

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Sept. 29-Oct. 12)

  • Not vaccinated: 51.6
  • Partially vaccinated: 10.3
  • Fully vaccinated: 2.6

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 8,008,858 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

Learn More:

For new regional restrictions in the Northern Health region, visit:
http://news.gov.bc.ca/stories/additional-health-measures-introduced-to-stop-covid-spread-and-protect-health-services-for-most-of-n

For information on a third dose for people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register#immunocompromised

As they become available, information on school outbreaks will be posted online: www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures

For surgical renewal commitment progress reports, visit:

To learn about how B.C. counts its daily COVID-19 cases in hospitals, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0058-001844

To learn about the BC Vaccine Card and how to access yours, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/vaccinecard.html

For the Aug. 12, 2021, announcement on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for long-term care workers, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/25143

For information on breakthrough cases, see the BC Centre for Disease Control's (BCCDC) weekly data summary: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data#summary

Detailed data is posted daily on the BCCDC dashboard: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data
Or: www.bccdc.ca

To register to be immunized or to learn about getting your second dose, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register
Or: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/dose-2

For the provincial health officer’s orders and guidance, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

For guidance on restrictions, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions

The latest updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and to find a testing centre near you: http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.

For COVID-19 exposure events, updates and information, visit:

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Wednesday, October 13, 2021

October 13th, 2021 BC #COVID-19 Pandemic Update

Courtesy of the Government of BC:

As of Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2021, 88.9% (4,120,063) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 82.7% (3,835,508) have received their second dose.

In addition, 89.4% (3,864,764) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 83.4% (3,609,210) received their second dose.

B.C. is reporting 605 new cases of COVID-19, including 18 epi-linked cases, for a total of 195,186 cases in the province.

There are 5,172 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 187,564 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 374 people are in hospital and 153 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Note: Intensive care numbers are a subset of the total in hospital. They are not in addition to the number of people in hospital.

The new/active cases include:

  • 245 new cases in Fraser Health
    • Total active cases: 2,214
  • 82 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
    • Total active cases: 721
  • 119 new cases in Interior Health
    • Total active cases: 850
  • 67 new cases in Northern Health
    • Total active cases: 689
  • 92 new cases in Island Health
    • Total active cases: 640
  • No new cases of people who reside outside of Canada
    • Total active cases: 58

In the past 24 hours, four new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,033.

The new deaths include:

  • Northern Health: three
  • Island Health: one

There has been one new health-care facility outbreak at Tofino General Hospital (Island Health). The outbreak at The Residence in Mission (Fraser Health) has been declared over, for a total of 19 active outbreaks, including:

  • long-term care:
    • Willingdon Care Centre, Westminster House, Magnolia Gardens, Manoah Manor, Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre, Cherington Place, West Shore Laylum (Fraser Health);
    • Cottonwoods Care Centre, Joseph Creek Care Village, Overlander, Village by the Station, Haven Hill Retirement Centre (Interior Health); and
    • Wrinch Memorial Hospital (Northern Health).
  • acute care:
    • Mission Memorial Hospital (Fraser Health);
    • University Hospital of Northern BC (Northern Health); and
    • Tofino General Hospital (Island Health).
  • assisted or independent living:
    • Sunset Manor, Evergreen Manor (Fraser Health); and
    • Cooper Place (Vancouver Coastal Health).

From Oct. 5-11, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 68.0% of cases and from Sept. 28-Oct. 11, they accounted for 73.4% of hospitalizations.

Past week cases (Oct. 5-11) – Total 4,206

  • Not vaccinated: 2,571 (61.1%)
  • Partially vaccinated: 291 (6.9%)
  • Fully vaccinated: 1,344 (32.0%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Sept. 28-Oct. 11) – Total 346

  • Not vaccinated: 229 (66.2%)
  • Partially vaccinated: 25 (7.2%)
  • Fully vaccinated: 92 (26.6%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Oct. 5-11)    

  • Not vaccinated: 278.3
  • Partially vaccinated: 80.5
  • Fully vaccinated: 32.1

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Sept. 28-Oct. 11)

  • Not vaccinated: 36.7
  • Partially vaccinated: 10.7
  • Fully vaccinated: 2.1

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 7,991,932 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

Learn More:

For information on a third dose for people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register#immunocompromised

As they become available, information on school outbreaks will be posted online: www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures

For surgical renewal commitment progress reports, visit:

To learn about how B.C. counts its daily COVID-19 cases in hospitals, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0058-001844

To learn about the BC Vaccine Card and how to access yours, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/vaccinecard.html

For the Aug. 12, 2021, announcement on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for long-term care workers, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/25143

For information on breakthrough cases, see the BC Centre for Disease Control's (BCCDC) weekly data summary: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data#summary

Detailed data is posted daily on the BCCDC dashboard: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data
Or: www.bccdc.ca

To register to be immunized or to learn about getting your second dose, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register
Or: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/dose-2

For the provincial health officer’s orders and guidance, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

For guidance on restrictions, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions

The latest updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and to find a testing centre near you: http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.

For COVID-19 exposure events, updates and information, visit:

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2021-22 Civil Forfeiture Crime Prevention and Remediation Grant Intake open

Courtesy of the Government of BC:

Organizations throughout the province working on community safety initiatives are invited to apply to the 2021-22 Civil Forfeiture Crime Prevention and Remediation grant program.

Details of the grant program’s submission process, which is open from Oct. 13 to Nov. 24, 2021, are available online: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/crime-prevention/community-crime-prevention/grants

This year’s funding streams are:

  • crime prevention
  • gender-based violence
  • domestic violence prevention/intervention programming
  • human trafficking; sexual exploitation; and sex worker safety
  • child and youth advocacy centres
  • Indigenous healing
  • restorative justice

The Civil Forfeiture Office (CFO) works to remove the profits from unlawful activity by taking away the proceeds from and assets used in criminal activity to reinvest them in community safety and crime-prevention initiatives.

The Civil Forfeiture Crime Prevention and Remediation grant program provides one-time funding to support community-based projects using the proceeds from the civil forfeiture process. Applicants to the grant program will be notified of the results by April 2022.

Learn More:

B.C.’s civil forfeiture program: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/crime-prevention/civil-forfeiture-office

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Washrooms at Williams Lake Parks closed for winter

Courtesy of the City of Williams Lake:

As a notice to residents, public washrooms located at Boitanio Park, Kiwanis Park and Scout Island Nature Centre have now been closed for the remainder of fall and winter.

A portable washroom, however, has been made available at Scout Island Nature Centre by the City’s Municipal Services Department.

In addition, the bike washing station installed this past summer located behind the Tourism Discovery Centre on Broadway Avenue South is now closed for the season due to cooler temperatures.

For more information contact Matt Sutherland, Manager of Public Works, at 250-392-1781

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The Future of Forestry in Quesnel

Courtesy of the City of Quesnel:

Editor's Note -- this week's Quesnel City Council News column is written by Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson.  He can be reached via email here

One of the initiatives we’d hoped to highlight during our planned community celebration this past September is our Forestry Innovation Centre at City Hall. This new centre is the hub for Council’s Forestry Think Tank process and the Forestry Initiatives Program which is the base of operations for all the fuel management and fire-smarting activities being conducted under the City’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP).

The Forestry Think Tank process was initiated by Council in 2018 after the disastrous 2017 fire season and our inability to convince the provincial government of the day to take a deeper look at the state of forest health in our region and develop more innovative and proactive plans to rehabilitate the land base in the Quesnel Forest District, particularly west of the Fraser River.

Our fear was that if the provincial government persisted in applying historical forest practices to the land base west of the Fraser we’d simply see a larger mountain pine beetle infestation followed by even larger, more catastrophic forest fires within 30-40 years. We also believed that with the robustness of the forestry manufacturing capacity that Quesnel still enjoys, we had an ideal opportunity to explore ways to reinvent the manufacturing sector in conjunction with new approaches to rehabilitating the forest land base.

The early sessions of the Think Tank process were very well received, and each session was over-subscribed. The presentations and group discussions at these sessions stimulated deeper conversations about how we need to manage our forests through the lens of ecological resiliency rather than timber production, move our manufacturing processes up the value chain (i.e. produce more diverse secondary and tertiary products from a shrinking timber supply, including bioproducts that can directly substitute for petrochemical products), and retrain the forest sector workforce.

Unfortunately, the pandemic has prevented us from continuing these in-person sessions, but the work of the Think Tank has continued, led by two full time staff housed in the City’s Forestry Innovation Center.

Partly as a result of the discussions during the Think Tank process, Quesnel is now a pilot District for a new approach to landscape level planning that will see the Ministry of Forests collaborate with First Nation Governments as well as local stakeholders in the creation of a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate and manage the forests in the North Cariboo. Staff at the Forestry Innovation Centre have also completed a preliminary analysis of alternate manufacturing opportunities that we will be discussing with the Provincial government and potential investors over the coming months.

Another outcome of the Think Tank process and the establishment of the Forestry Innovation Centre is that Quesnel has attracted the attention of universities and researchers from across the globe. For example, last week (for the second year in a row) we hosted a group of students from UBC’s Masters of International Forestry program who spent 3 days in Quesnel exploring all aspects of forestry from the field to the mills. The 21 students and 4 staff who visited our City represented 13 different countries and all were impressed with both our passion for the forest sector and our community’s leadership in its reinvention.  Several of the students will be returning to our community to further their studies and potentially for internships or jobs.

Due to the success of the Forestry Innovation Centre, Quesnel has also been selected as the provincial hub for a 5-year federal research project called Silva21 (silva21.com) which will provide tools and practical solutions for decision-makers, managers and planners to adapt their forest management practices. This week, we are meeting with the research team from Carleton University, the University of Toronto, the University of Alberta, and Natural Resources Canada who are developing a risk management framework for managing future mountain pine beetle epidemics.

These examples demonstrate how the Forestry Innovation Centre is a hub for protecting our community from wildfire, transitioning our forest practices for ecosystem health, and pivoting our manufacturing sector, all of which help Quesnel build a stronger community that is better equipped to face challenges and seize opportunities as they arise.

For more information and regular updates on the City’s forestry innovation initiatives please visit: quesnel.ca/forestry

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Tuesday, October 12, 2021

October 12th, 2021 BC #COVID-19 Pandemic Update

Courtesy of the Government of BC:

As of Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, 88.8% (4,117,400) of eligible people 12 and older in B.C. have received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and 82.6% (3,830,063) received their second dose.

In addition, 89.3% (3,862,332) of all eligible adults in B.C. have received their first dose and 83.3% (3,604,199) received their second dose.

Over a four-day period, B.C. is reporting 2,090 new cases of COVID-19, including four epi-linked cases, for a total of 194,581 cases in the province:

  • Oct. 8-9: 603 new cases
  • Oct. 9-10: 634 new cases
  • Oct. 10-11: 468 new cases
  • Oct. 11-12: 385 new cases

There are 5,183 active cases of COVID-19 in the province and 186,955 people who tested positive have recovered. Of the active cases, 357 individuals are in hospital and 153 are in intensive care. The remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

Note: Intensive care numbers are a subset of the total in hospital. They are not in addition to the number of people in hospital.

The new/active cases include:

  • 814 new cases in Fraser Health
    • Total active cases: 2,182
  • 229 new cases in Vancouver Coastal Health
    • Total active cases: 647
  • 404 new cases in Interior Health
    • Total active cases: 841
  • 351 new cases in Northern Health
    • Total active cases: 833
  • 292 new cases in Island Health
    • Total active cases: 622
  • No new cases of people who reside outside of Canada
    • Total active cases: 58

In the past 96 hours, 28 new deaths have been reported, for an overall total of 2,029.

The new deaths include:

  • Fraser Health: five
  • Vancouver Coastal Health: three
  • Interior Health: eight
  • Northern Health: seven
  • Island Health: five

There have been two new health-care facility outbreaks at West Shore Laylum and Evergreen Manor (Fraser Health), for a total of 19 active outbreaks, including:

  • long-term care:
    • Willingdon Care Centre, Westminster House, The Residence in Mission, Magnolia Gardens, Manoah Manor, Good Samaritan Delta View Care Centre, Cherington Place, West Shore Laylum (Fraser Health);
    • Cottonwoods Care Centre, Joseph Creek Care Village, Overlander, Village by the Station, Haven Hill Retirement Centre (Interior Health); and
    • Wrinch Memorial Hospital (Northern Health).
  • acute care:
    • Mission Memorial Hospital (Fraser Health); and
    • University Hospital of Northern BC (Northern Health).
  • assisted or independent living:
    • Sunset Manor, Evergreen Manor (Fraser Health); and
    • Cooper Place (Vancouver Coastal Health).

The workplace and communal-living outbreak at Fort St. John – Site C (Northern Health) has been declared over.

From Oct. 4-10, people not fully vaccinated accounted for 68.1% of cases and from Sept. 27-Oct. 10, they accounted for 73.7% of hospitalizations.

Past week cases (Oct. 4-10) – Total 4,341

  • Not vaccinated: 2,649 (61.0%)
  • Partially vaccinated: 310 (7.1%)
  • Fully vaccinated: 1,382 (31.8%)

Past two weeks cases hospitalized (Sept. 27-Oct. 10) – Total 383

  • Not vaccinated: 253 (66.1%)
  • Partially vaccinated: 29 (7.6%)
  • Fully vaccinated: 101 (26.4%)

Past week, cases per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Oct. 4-10)    

  • Not vaccinated: 281.3
  • Partially vaccinated: 84.4
  • Fully vaccinated: 33.1

Past two weeks, cases hospitalized per 100,000 population after adjusting for age (Sept. 27-Oct. 10)

  • Not vaccinated: 40.3
  • Partially vaccinated: 12.3
  • Fully vaccinated: 2.3

Since December 2020, the Province has administered 7,978,015 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines.

Update for visitors to long-term care, assisted-living and acute-care facilities:

Starting Oct. 12, all visitors to long-term care and assisted-living facilities will need to show proof they have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

Starting Oct. 26, all visitors to long-term care, assisted-living and acute-care facilities will need to show proof they are fully vaccinated with two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. Those who are not vaccinated will not be able to visit in these high-risk settings (excluding children 12 or under or those with an approved medical exemption).

Learn More:

For information on a third dose for people who are moderately to severely immunocompromised, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register#immunocompromised

As they become available, information on school outbreaks will be posted online: www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures

For surgical renewal commitment progress reports, visit:

To learn about how B.C. counts its daily COVID-19 cases in hospitals, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2021HLTH0058-001844

To learn about the BC Vaccine Card and how to access yours, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/vaccinecard.html

For the Aug. 12, 2021, announcement on mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations for long-term care workers, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/25143

For information on breakthrough cases, see the BC Centre for Disease Control's (BCCDC) weekly data summary: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data#summary

Detailed data is posted daily on the BCCDC dashboard: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data
Or: www.bccdc.ca

To register to be immunized or to learn about getting your second dose, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register
Or: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/dose-2

For the provincial health officer’s orders and guidance, visit:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/covid-19-novel-coronavirus

For guidance on restrictions, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions

The latest updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and to find a testing centre near you: http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.

For COVID-19 exposure events, updates and information, visit:

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