How COVID-19 affected Prince George in 2020

While 2020 was an eventful year, locally and globally, there was no story that dominated the news more than the COVID-19 pandemic.

As of New Year’s Eve, the pandemic had infected about 81 million people worldwide – including more than 555,000 Canadians – and claimed 1.8 million lives, according to data released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Canada's death toll from the pandemic passed 15,000 last week, The Canadian Press reported. 

A third of those deaths have occurred in November and December. Canada hit 10,000 deaths on Oct. 27 and 5,000 on May 12, according to reporting by The Canadian Press.

Since Canada's first case of COVID-19 was reported on Jan. 25 in a Toronto man returning from Wuhan, China, an average of 1,628 Canadians have tested positive and more than 44 have died from the disease each day.

COVID-19 is on track to be the third-leading cause of death in Canada in 2020, after cancer and heart disease, based on Statistics Canada data from 2015 to 2019.

While COVID-19 has claimed fewer lives than cancer did on average over that five-year span (79,134 per year), and heart disease (52,326.8 per year), it killed more Canadians than cerebrovascular diseases like stroke and aneurysms did on average (13,675.8 per year), accidents (13,057.4 per year) or chronic lower respiratory diseases (12,706.8 per year).

COVID-19 has killed more than twice as many Canadians as influenza and pneumonia did on average between 2015 and 2019 (7,333 per year).

In British Columbia, as of Dec. 29, a total of 50,815 people had tested positive for COVID-19 – including 1,890 in the Northern Health region – and 882 British Columbians had died from the disease, including 26 in the north, according to data released by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Transmission of COVID-19 in the community has prompted exposures and outbreaks at schools, hospitals, long-term care homes and industrial sites throughout northern B.C.

Nearly 20 COVID exposure events were reported at Prince George schools in December alone.

The University Hospital of Northern B.C. had two outbreaks in December, and outbreaks have been reported at the Jubilee Lodge and Gateway Lodge long-term care homes this month.

Work camps linked to the LNG Canada, Coastal GasLink and Site C dam projects have all reported COVID-19 outbreaks over the year.

While 41,175 British Columbians have recovered from COVID-19 – including 1,341 people in the Northern Health region – scientists are finding that COVID-19 can have long-lasting negative health impacts.

While less than 2,000 people in the Northern Health region have had COVID-19, the measures put in place to control the pandemic have impacted nearly everyone.

Limits on visitors have been in effect for most of the year at long-term care and assisted-living homes in the province, in an attempt to prevent the disease from infecting those most at risk.

On March 17, B.C. provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry declared the pandemic a public health emergency. Since then gatherings of 50 or more people have been banned.

Many businesses, including bars, pubs and casinos were ordered to close. Other businesses were required to offer delivery or take-out options only.

In response to Henry's order, the City of Prince George closed CN Centre, the Prince George Aquatic Centre, Four Seasons Leisure Pool, Elksentre Arena, Rolling Mix Concrete Arena, Kin centres and Prince George Conference and Civic Centre. The Four Seasons pool, civic centre and Elksentre remain closed, but the remaining facilities began reopening in the fall after requests from local user groups.

Likewise, many businesses were allowed to reopen, with COVID-19 safety plans in place – including measures like plexiglass barriers between staff and customers, seating limits,restricted hours of liquor service, etc. In November, after receiving requests from groups including United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1518 – a union representing grocery workers in Prince George and B.C. – Henry imposed a public health order requiring British Columbians to wear masks in all public buildings.

Those measures prompted push back from some customers and members of the public.

In November, Rocky Mountain Chocolate owner Trent Derrick said his staff took abuse on a nearly daily basis for awhile as they tried to enforce their COVID safety plan.

"We've had people yell at our staff. We've had people yell at us," Derrick said. "For awhile, it was happening once or twice a day. It has slowed down to once or twice a week, now."

The economic impact of the pandemic saw the city's unemployment rate peak at 11.8 per cent in May and hovered just below 10 per cent for much of the summer. By November, the unemployment rate had recovered to 8.1 per cent – the lowest level since February, before the pandemic's impact had been fully felt.

Restrictions on international travel have been in place much of the year, with periods where all travel – even within the province – have been restricted.

That's had an impact on tourism operators and the Prince George Airport.

In a report to city council earlier this year, airport president and CEO Gordon Duke said he expects it could takes years for airline travel to fully recovery. Passenger numbers through the airport have collapsed since March.

"We're sitting about 70 per cent below where we were last year. That's been fairly consistent since August," Duke said. "We are seeing significant losses every month. So much of our costs are fixed. We will likely, after the winter, be in some type of reduced hours."

With passenger loads on flights to and from Prince George hovering around 45 per cent, Duke said he wouldn't be surprised to see airlines cut service to the city.

Live entertainment, arts, sports and fundraising events have all been impacted by the pandemic. The majority of the annual events that make up the city's social calendar have been cancelled, or forced to move to online-only formats.

The rapid development and approval of vaccines against the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the bright spots of the year.

Pfizer's vaccine was approved for use by Health Canada in early December, and the first doses were distributed in British Columbia mid-month. The first shipment of 1,950 doses of the Pfizer vaccine arrived at the University Hospital of Northern B.C. on Dec. 21, and on Dec. 22 Jubilee Lodge care aide Biserka Becker became the first person in the Northern Health region to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

As of Dec. 29, a total of 11,930 people in the province had received their first dose of the two-dose vaccine, Henry said. Of those people, only two had allergic reactions to the vaccine and were quickly treated. Both made full recoveries, she said.

The complexity and delicate nature of the Pfizer vaccine means the pharmaceutical company is only shipping it directly to two sites in the province - both in the Lower Mainland.

Doses of the vaccine are only being administered at nine locations in the province - with UHNBC being the only location in the Northern Health region.

However, the first doses of a second vaccine approved for use in Canada – made by Moderna – arrived in B.C. on Dec. 29. The Moderna vaccine is much easier to handle and store, meaning it can be more easily distributed and administered in smaller communities, Henry said.

"The Moderna vaccine will be used in the north, and interior, and parts of the island, to deliver to smaller long-term care homes," Henry said. "(And) it will be going to a number of remote and indigenous communities. I think this is very important and exciting."

Both the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are two-dose treatments, and but the province won't begin administering second doses to people until February. The initial goal is to protect as many vulnerable people as possible with the initial doses, she said.

"As we are ramping up vaccination, we are looking at how to get to level that breaks transmission," Henry said. "We hope to reach that level by summer (of 2021), fall at the latest."