Coronavirus: Everything you need to know in Vancouver today

Each day in Canada, a lot of news regarding COVID-19 comes out nationally and locally.

Now, we’re bringing you the top coronavirus headlines from Vancouver and across Canada all together in one place on a daily basis, to help you digest all the information and stay in the know with the biggest stories and developments.

Top COVID-19 stories for April 17 in Vancouver

Over $1 billion being made available to small businesses and startups: Trudeau

Early this morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced over $1 billion in support for small businesses and startups that do not qualify for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) and federal wage subsidy. Trudeau said that $962 million will be made available to regional and community development agencies and the Community Futures Network, which will help small and medium-sized businesses that do not qualify for CEBA, especially for those in rural communities. In addition, $270 million will be given to Futurpreneur — an organization that supports startups and young entrepreneurs in Canada — helping startups that are not eligible for the wage subsidy.

Here in BC, health officials announced 43 new test-positive COVID-19 cases on Friday, bringing the total recorded cases to 1,618 in the province. However, for the first time in nearly two weeks, no new deaths were reported. While no press conference was held today, BC Minister of Health Adrian Dix and Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry issued a joint statement regarding updates on the coronavirus response in British Columbia. “Every health region in British Columbia has patients with COVID-19: 680 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 661 are in the Fraser Health region, 94 are in the Island Health region, 150 are in the Interior Health region and 33 are in the Northern Health region.”

Coronavirus restrictions in BC could start to ease up in mid-May

Also today, Dix and Henry unveiled British Columbia’s latest COVID-19 data, showing the positive impacts of physical distancing and restrictive measures. The data was presented with cautious optimism, but BC Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry stresses that the collective efforts of British Columbians cannot ease up. They hinted that should numbers continue to decrease, the province could start to see some of the stringent measures begin to ease up, particularly in early to mid-May. One of the first steps would be restarting scheduled surgeries, but only if the province doesn’t experience a surge in cases.

Science World may struggle to stay open after coronavirus restrictions end

Following an announcement by the Vancouver Aquarium this week that the 65-year-old facility in Stanley Park could be forced to close permanently in the wake of the pandemic, another popular Vancouver attraction says it could be facing dire consequences as well. In mid-March, Science World closed its doors indefinitely as part of the measures to combat the spread of COVID-19, and as a result it immediately lost 85% of its revenue, Science World President and CEO Janet Wood said in a statement to Daily Hive. Now, as the weeks continue to pass with no firm end date in sight, Wood said this situation “will be hard for us to recover from,” and “has been a devastating blow” to the organization.

Looking for more information and further updates? You can view all the day’s headlines in real-time here.