Officials have declared a public health emergency in B-C over the coronavirus outbreak. Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has also announced three more deaths in B-C from COVID-19 — increasing the total to seven. Henry says two are linked to an outbreak at the Lynne Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver and the other was a man in his 80s in the Fraser health region. She is reporting 83 new positive cases of coronavirus in the province today — partly due to increased testing — bringing the total to 186. Meanwhile, the government is indefinitely suspending classes for students from kindergarten to Grade 12 in the latest effort to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. Education Minister Rob Fleming says the government had to act to protect students and staff. He says his department is working with school districts and teachers to figure out how to continue lessons outside classrooms. Premier John Horgan says licensed daycares in B-C will remain open but the situation could change quickly.
