Dear Community Members,

Happy new year. While 2020 was difficult for all of us in B.C., we have reasons to be optimistic about the coming year. So far, over 40,000 people in the province have received a dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and more doses will be administered each week as delivery ramps up. The vaccine will help keep people safe and slow the spread of the virus in our communities. More information on B.C.’s vaccine plan can be found here.

This week, Minister of Health Adrian Dix announced that 90% of people who had their surgery postponed during the first wave of COVID-19 have now had their surgery completed. This significant achievement is the result of the hard work of surgeons, nurses and other health care workers, who have adapted to new practices to keep hospitals and patients safe and allow surgeries to resume during COVID-19. Since April 1, hundreds of new health care workers have been hired in the province to support our surgical renewal plan.

As of this week, over one million British Columbians have been approved to receive the BC Recovery Benefit, and staff are working through hundreds of thousands more applications as quickly as possible. The benefit will help make life easier for people and families through the pandemic, with up to $1,000 available for families and up to $500 for single people. For more information about applying for the benefit, you can visit gov.bc.ca/recoverybenefit.

As always, if you have questions or need any assistance with provincial COVID-19 supports, or other provincial issues, please reach out. Our phones and email are staffed 10-4 T-F and you can schedule an in-person appointment by calling us at 604-660-1297.

Sincerely,

Vancouver Pt. Grey Community Office