Northern Health could be joining the rest of B.C. in a worrying trend.
After hitting a low of 186 active cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, the count has continued to rise, numbers from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control are showing.
As of Thursday, 217 active cases were reported and the number came with a concurrent increase in the number of new cases as 53 were recorded, compared to 23 on Tuesday.
At four, cases involving the Omicron variant remained relatively small in the region compared to the rest of the province, but was up by three from Wednesday. 975 have now been confirmed for all of B.C.
A daily record 2.046 new cases were reported for B.C.
Hospitalizations iin Northern Health remained stable at 11 with five in critical care and no new deaths were reported.
Meanwhile, details on federal and provincial programs to help businesses through the latest round of heightened restrictions have been unveiled.
On Wednesday, Ottawa said it would expand eligibility for two benefit programs.
The Local Lockdown Program will now offer wage and rent subsidies ranging between 25 and 75 per cent to employers who are subject to capacity restrictions of 50 per cent or more. Additionally, the current-month revenue decline threshold requirement will be lowered to 25 per cent.
It will also expand the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit, which provides $300 weekly to workers who have lost at least 50 per cent of their income because of lockdowns, to include workers in regions where provincial or territorial governments have introduced capacity restrictions of 50 per cent or more.
On Thursday, the B.C. government said it would provide relief grants of between $1,000 and $10,000 based on businesses' number of employees.
Prince George Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Corrigall dismissed the provincial step as ineffective and noted the program won't come into effect until January.
Given all that has happened since the pandemic took hold, he said Victoria should have been better prepared and quicker to respond.
"This is just so tone deaf at this point...they're just lost," he said Thursday.
The federal initiative is "not much better" Corrigall said.
Dean Coleman, owner of The Movement fitness studio, said the federal rent subsidy program may help him but only a bit while the provincial government program will be of no help at all because all the instructors at the studio work on a contract basis.
"Absolute closure basically means zero revenue...in my opinion, absolute closure should be fully funded," he said.
Starting Thursday and continuing until January 18, gyms along with bars and nightclubs that serve alcohol only, are closed down to act as a "circuit breaker" and prevent spread of the virus over the holiday season.
Dance studios are also to be closed, although Judy Russell of Enchainment Dance Studio says that applies only to the adult classes. Weddings will also take a hit as they are now limited to "personal gatherings" of couple's household plus 10 visitors or one other household.
- with files from The Canadian Press
