When it comes to dealing with the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, health officials are reminding people that the same rules apply to rural communities as to large cities: thoroughly wash your hands, don’t touch your face, and isolate yourself if you are feeling ill.
“We do not recommend wearing a mask in the community, as surgical masks are not designed for this purpose and are unlikely to provide significant protection,” said Vancouver Coastal Health in a statement.
While many cities have taken preventative measures such as cancelling large public gathering like sporting events and closing schools, so far none of these situations have arisen in Bella Coola.
Local Emergency Management Coordinator Jessica Miller said that while the responsibilities for health-related emergencies lie with the health authorities, local emergency management officials are able to support if needed and are participating in coordination calls with regional and provincial health authorities to receive updates.
“We are sharing some more information with the Bella Coola Valley community about COVID-19 that will hopefully help answer many of the questions we are receiving about how to prepare and what the current situation is,” said Miller. “At this point, we are still operating business-as-usual but we are meeting regularly with health authorities and planning ahead. We are supporting the messaging from health authorities provided in the attached messages, and from the Centre for Disease Control website, and from the Vancouver Coastal Health website.”
Miller said that information on COVID-19 will be posted online at ccrd.ca, on Facebook community pages, and at the following physical locations to start: wharf bulletin board, post offices, Shop Easy, Co-op, Mountain Valley Organics, CCRD office, and the Nuxalk Administration office.
Chantelle Saunders, manager of the Bella Coola Co-op, said that staff have noticed an uptick in sales of certain items due to the concern over COVID-19.
“Toilet paper flew off the shelf yesterday. Our supplier ran out of hand sanitizer before the panic made it here so we’ve been out for a couple weeks,” said Saunders. “The Dollar Store side ran out yesterday, but overall it doesn’t seem to be too much of a panic.”
Catherine Han of the Hagensborg Shop Easy also confirmed that her store has been running low on hand sanitizers.
According to Vancouver Coastal Health the risk to Canadians remains low. However, if people are experiencing symptoms linked to COVID-19 (fever, coughing, difficulty breathing, and/or pneumonia in both lungs) they are encouraged to stay home and contact their primary care provider, local public health office, or call 8-1-1.
Additionally, if people are returning from travel the Public Health Agency of Canada recommends travellers returning from the Hubei province (including Wuhan city) of China and Iran to closely monitor themselves for symptoms and avoid contact with others for 14 days after leaving those areas.
This includes remaining home from school or work and avoiding crowded places. International travellers returning from anywhere else are not being asked to self-isolate, but they should monitor themselves for symptoms and contact their health provider if they become ill.
In British Columbia, there have been 39 positive COVID-19 cases to date. The Province of BC announced the first death connected to COVID-19. A man in his 80s with underlying health issues who had tested positive for COVID-19 passed away on Mar.8.
The Public Health Agency of Canada has also set up a 2019 novel coronavirus telephone information line at: 1-833-784-4397.
