While it’s a good sign, starting this week, British Columbians will begin to see less of the two people who became a fixture of every weekday afternoon around 3 p.m. since the pandemic began.
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix have become staples and familiar faces in the lives of British Columbians.
Whether you tuned into the COVID-19 briefings online, watched on tv or listened on the radio Dr. Henry’s calm voice and demeanour helped us all navigate our province through the last year and a bit.
Both Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix provided live briefings to the public, bringing daily COVID-19 results and important information regarding the province’s response to the pandemic to the public.
Although the schedule of daily briefings have changed over time, starting with daily live briefings early last year before transitioning to a few live broadcasts a week, we have all gotten used to seeing Dr. Bonnie Henry and Adrian Dix throughout our week.
However, the provincial government has just announced that starting this week they will be moving to only one live briefing per week.
Many believe this change in live briefing schedule is due to the province’s decreasing COVID-19 numbers and impressive vaccination rollout.
On Friday, BC health officials reported only 109 new cases of COVID-19, with zero new cases in the Island Health region.
This was the first day with no new reported cases in the Vancouver Island Health region since July 2020.
Previous to that, Island Health reported no new reported cases of COVID-19 from May 9th to July 9th 2020.
The Ministry of Health adds that a limited number of media personnel will now be permitted to join live briefings. Physical distancing and other safety measures will be in place.
Daily written statements including updated information on BC COVID-19 cases and vaccination programs will continue to be issued by the provincial government weekdays around 3:00 p.m.
The next live update will be on Tuesday, June 22nd.
