BC Parks is immediately closing all provincial parks in response to the widespread call for increased action to address COVID-19. This includes Burgoyne Bay Provincial Park, Ruckle Provincial Park, Mount Maxwell Provincial Park and Mount Erskine Provincial Park on Salt Spring Island. The closure responds to both the federal and provincial directives that people should stay close to home to reduce COVID-19 transmission risk. This temporary measure means people should not be going to provincial parks until further notice. “Because physical distancing works, it is critical that we take every action needed to restrict the spread of COVID-19. This applies to British Columbians and out-of-province visitors who were planning to visit or stay at our provincial parks. The message is clear: stay home, avoid travel, do not put yourself or others at risk,” said George Heyman, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “I understand and share the love people in British Co…

Your Words of Support Will Mean So Much - While the rest of us shelter at home, brave women and men put themselves in harm’s way everyday to help us when we need it most. These are the first responders, the doctors, nurses, lab and x-ray technicians, the social workers, home care workers, housekeeping, laundry and dietary staff, the facilities management team, and all the support people behind the scenes at Lady Minto Hospital. Knowing our community hospital is there for us makes a big difference in these uncertain times. Know that you can return the favour by showing your support for these dedicated front-line workers. Your appreciation will lighten their burden. Please share your messages of encouragement and thanks at ladymintofoundation.com/share-your-appreciation

The number of COVID-19 cases in the Vancouver Island Health Authority has remained stable for some days now. This means physical distancing measures are working. It also means that those who need hospital care or a ventilator have access to them. At some point we may be able to ease up on some of the measures but that time is NOT YET. We all must continue to do our part. As your health care team we have been working for many weeks now with the health authority and province on contingency plans should there be an outbreak of COVID-19 on Salt Spring or in any rural community. While plans are in place to address transport needs, it is clear that any rural community could easily and quickly exhaust its resources. Therefore, it is imperative that with the nice weather arriving and a long weekend approaching, each of us stresses to friends and family NOT to visit. Please celebrate and remain connected virtually. It seems that there are more questions than answers about keepi…

The Salt Spring Community Health Society (SSCHS) and the Salt Spring Chapter – Rural and Remote Division of Family Practice (SSC-RRDFP) are pleased to announce joint funding by the Lady Minto Hospital Foundation and Salt Spring Island Foundation to manufacture and distribute re-usable face shields and isolation gowns as well as alcohol sanitizer to on-island physicians and health care workers, first responders, and other highly exposed community workers. “This is an exciting example of how four local organizations can partner to work in the best interests of the community, and is the culmination of many, many hours spent by highly-skilled and creative professionals and volunteers to leverage the considerable open-source and maker movement,” said Jennifer Williams, President, SSCHS. This equipment will protect physicians in their community practices, their staff, as well as first responders and community workers who serve vulnerable populations, among others. This, in turn…

We all continue to follow the daily updates from the Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry and the Minister of Health, Adrian Dix, and hope for good news. So far, physical distancing seems to be working in our Health Authority and in BC as a whole. The increase in the number of new cases of COVID-19 has not been as rapid or as extensive as it might have been, and this is undoubtedly due to the extensive measures in place to stop the spread between individuals and within the community. The challenge will be to continue to physically distance, practice excellent hand hygiene, and avoid touching our faces in the days, weeks and months ahead. We need to remember that the virus does not move, but rather people move the virus. This means that staying at home in our community is very important as a way to stop transmission. If you need to travel to a different community, you should be following all of the recommended precautions strictly. Similarly, if you know of people wh…

Task Force Forms to Provide Resilient Local Planning to COVID-19 - To further support the Salt Spring community during COVID-19 a newly formed coordination team, the Business and Farm Response & Recovery Task Force, has come together representing key farm and business stakeholders. Its goal is to ensure island-wide coordination and address the significant current and anticipated impacts to Salt Spring Island as a result of COVID-19. Island residents require coordinated economic and community services support to respond to the unique local economic consequences of this crisis. Laura Patrick, Task Force Chair, and SSI Trustee, says the farm and business response action plan is underway, “Planning for recovery now, by collaborating, coordinating and instituting protective measures, will ensure that we are able to sustain and support our community through this crisis.” Anne Macey, co-facilitating work on the Agriculture Response Plan as part of this overall initiative, adds,“ Th…

Fortunately, for the moment, these posts have little new information and are quite boring. This is good. This means we may be flattening the curve, but it is still too early to say. It can be hard to appreciate the severity of what is happening elsewhere in our province and country when the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and Spring is so clearly making itself known. Once again though, we must implore you to carry on with all the physical distancing measures. It is our only hope for slowing the virus, saving lives, and being able to lift some of the restrictions we now face, a bit earlier. Again we offer some resources to help Salt Springers to cope during this time. With school technically back in session, here are some activities for children and youth. Museums around the world are offering free virtual online tours. The US Centers for Disease Control website now has a section devoted to maintaining mental wellness during the pandemic. Editorial Note…

Every single person on Salt Spring has the potential to save a life by practicing physical distancing. Never before have any of us been able to have such an incredible impact by such a small change in behaviour. Simply staying home and maintaining a physical distance from others is the single most effective measure to control and stop this pandemic. The provincial medical health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s address yesterday gave us a glimmer of hope, but as many know, statistics can be interpreted in many different ways. Now is NOT the time to relax any of the containment measures. Rather, it is crucial that we hold the course we are on, continue to practice physical distancing, stay home, and wash our hands. The coming days will reveal if we are truly ‘flattening the curve’ of new cases. Lady Minto Hospital remains open with restrictions on visitors and all the recommended infection control measures in place. We continue to be ready and able to care for you. We …

A gentle reminder to people who have been asking whether there are cases on Salt Spring—we are committed to the confidentiality of our patients and will not disclose any more than the information you are receiving from the Medical Officer of Health. Our regulatory body, The College of Physicians and Surgeons has said: “….Dr. Henry is taking great care to ensure the privacy of individuals who are affected, which of course is of utmost importance. The College has recently learned of instances where information has been posted on social media or provided to the press about individual patient cases and test results, including the identification of certain smaller communities. This is not acceptable. Physicians must not disclose information about individual patients in any setting, including stories shared directly with other people, even if patient identities are not revealed. The risk of a privacy breach is too great”. We are also aware that there is a time lag between th…

Lady Minto Hospital is here for you during the COVID-19 crisis, however the hospital and the people who take care of all of us need your help. In light of the potential COVID-19 risk we all face, Lady Minto Hospital is planning, training and working to be ready for all eventualities. More critical than ever, supply shortages need to be anticipated, identified, and taken care of as quickly as possible to ensure adequate inventory exists for the safety of hospital staff and patients. The Foundation has begun to pay for such extraordinary supplies, ensuring the need will be met. We are asking for the community's help at this critical time. Your donation will be used exclusively to help the hospital ensure that it doesn't run short of the supplies and equipment necessary to fight COVID-19. In this time of uncertainty and anxiety, we can all take comfort in knowing we have a community hospital and amazing team that is here for us. Donate online at ladymintofoundation.…

Dear families of students in SD64: As we all know, the return to school after Spring Break this year is anything but normal. I want to reassure you that district staff have been working throughout the break, in partnership with provincial authorities, to ensure that public education continues to provide high quality learning and support services to our students, families, and communities. Like the communities we serve, the school district is resilient and ready to take on the challenges that lie before us in the coming weeks. Our responsibilities as a school district are numerous and I would like to share with you some of the things we are working on and some of the ways that we see our services continuing – services that will look and feel different for all of us. The BC Ministry of Education, with advice from the Provincial Health Officer, announced the suspension of in-class instruction to help stop the spread of Covid-19 and to ensure that our students and families…