 Good afternoon. We're at the Legislative Assembly today, Dr. Henry, Minister Dix, on the traditional territory of Low Congen-speaking people, the Songhees and the Squimalt First Nations. I'm here today to talk about BC's restart plan. COVID-19 has transformed our province. It's changed how we live, work and connect with each other. It has put tremendous pressure on our healthcare system and it has challenged the way we conduct ourselves in a way that we couldn't have possibly imagined. My sympathy goes to the families of the 124 British Columbians we've lost during this pandemic. Grandparents, parents, siblings, loved ones. People who died oftentimes without the comfort of their loved ones, but instead there at the last minutes were healthcare providers putting themselves at risk to comfort those who we've left behind. We're grateful to those healthcare workers and first responders who've been there to help the sick and the dying. Every day they put themselves in harm's way. Every day they've given them themselves to fight this virus. COVID-19 has taken something from all of us, some more than others. Tens of thousands of British Columbians are out of work. Businesses are struggling. Many people are dealing with mental health challenges and it's been weeks since we've seen our friends or our families. Many feel confined and alone. This pandemic has been tough on all of us. And yet the people of BC have risen to the challenge with compassion and determination. Every day I'm inspired, as Adrian and Dr. Henry are, by the 1,494 people who have fully recovered from COVID-19. By the businesses that have retooled to create PPE for frontline workers here in BC. And for those essential workers that are doing their job to make sure we can get the goods and services we need to continue our families and our communities. I'm inspired by neighbors helping neighbors. I'm inspired by artists and musicians lifting our spirits. It's because of that collective effort and sacrifice that we've been able to flatten the curve and save thousands of lives. And we need to do this together as we go forward. All of this has been accomplished without a full lockdown. Thanks to the leadership and wisdom of Dr. Henry and Minister Dix, we put in place in British Columbia a plan that has slowed the growth of the virus and put us in a place for a safe restart of our economy. It won't be the flipping of a switch. We're going to be proceeding carefully, bit by bit, one step at a time. Every step will be informed by the advice of the provincial health officer as well as the input from British Columbians in every corner of this province. We need to ensure that people stay healthy and that British Columbians can move forward confidently as we proceed to the other side of the new normal. The graph shows what's at stake. We're all here to continue to do our part to make sure that that curve stays down and declines. That's what we're looking for, but it means when we see it that people are safe. It means that we have capacity in our hospitals and it means that if you're sick anywhere in this province, we have the ability to give you that care that you're going to need. If we lose this discipline, everything that we've worked for to this point will be lost. We need to get it right and we need to make sure that we progress together slowly and safely. It was two months ago on March 5th that I activated BC's Pandemic Response Plan alongside Dr. Henry and Minister Dix. Two months, but today we're starting the next chapter, the chapter being called BC's Restart Plan. This is not a return to normal. It is that many have said, and Dr. Henry and others, we're going to the new normal. And some people are afraid of opening up and I understand that. They're not certain what it means for their loved ones and for their communities. But we still need to make sure we're bracing to protect each other from this desperate virus. And in order to do that, we have to hang together. And that includes rural and remote communities who don't know what this virus will do as it proceeds through the province. It means that indigenous communities that are concerned about devastation from past pandemics, they look to their elders and their knowledge keepers and say, how do we keep them safe in this environment? It's okay to be concerned. It's understandable to be concerned. We're here to reassure you that we're going to do everything we can to help. We're going to do everything we can to keep you safe. BC's Restart Plan is informed by health experts, common sense and practical decision making. We will not move ahead unless it's safe to do so. The restart will happen in phases spaced out over intervals of two to four weeks. One of the three areas that we're going to be focusing on are personal care. Everyone must keep doing what we have been doing to stop the spread. That means washing your hands, keeping safe social distancing. As we interact, social interaction with other people, we need to make sure that our connections with each other are safe. And as we conduct economic activity, businesses and services that become available have to be phased in as part of this plan. The good news is we're already at phase one. This is because BC did not completely shut down. Many jurisdictions are only now returning to the place that BC has been at for some time. We already have safe operation for essential services to allow people to get basic supplies. We already have been putting more resources into hospitals and residential care. We already have childcare centers open for essential workers. We already have K-12 learning in classrooms for the children of parents of frontline workers. We already have safe operations for construction, manufacturing, agriculture, silver culture and many, many more businesses. And the weeks ahead BC will move into phase two of the Restart Plan. In this next phase, we must continue to maintain a very high standard of personal conduct. We're asking people to use common sense and follow these five principles as we implement the Restart Plan. We're going to be focusing on personal hygiene. We're going to be staying at home if we're sick. We're going to focus on environmental hygiene, safe social interactions and physical modifications. We expect British Columbians to practice these every day. We expect people to make informed choices about how to safely interact with each other. As we start to relax some of the social restrictions, small social gatherings with physical distancing will be allowed. The choices you make about expanding your social circle will depend on your age, your occupation and the health of the people that you live with. Here's what it could look like. Grandchildren visiting grandparents with safe social distancing. Playdates with kids again with safe social distancing. Small numbers of friends gathering outdoors or in home again, small numbers. The key is only small gatherings. And we still need to be mindful when we're interacting with each other, especially with vulnerable people that we keep our social circles tight. We're asking everyone to follow these principles and to use your common sense. Restrictions on large gatherings are here to stay. Groups larger than 50 give the virus an opportunity to re-emerge and no matter how far apart you are, large gatherings will not be allowed. Also at Phase 2, we'll be reintroducing elective surgeries. Dr. Minister Dix and I will be talking about that in more detail tomorrow. But this is the beginning of getting back to a place where our health care system can provide the important services that we all need and depend on. We're also going to be returning to regulated health services like physiotherapy, dentistry, chiropractors and in-person counseling. I'm happy to say that we will also be reopening provincial parks for day use. Gatherings outside is a good thing. Physical well-being, mental well-being, all are added to when we get outside and enjoy the splendor of British Columbia. But we must do so in a safe manner. We can't congregate in large groups when you visit a provincial park. Do so mindful of the people around you and observe physical distancing. Dr. Henry's been clear that this physical distancing outside will reduce the likelihood of transmission of the virus. In fact, the likelihood is very low provided you follow these basic guidelines. So some BC parks will be open in time for the Victoria Day Long weekend. Let's enjoy that, but let's stay close to home. This is not the time for a road trip to another community for a hike or a holiday. If you have a provincial park in your area, by all means visit it. Do not travel great distances. We need to stay close to home. That's a key part of our recovery. The safe operation of retail businesses and offices is the other part of the second phase. Sectors that we have ordered closed need to work with WorkSafeBC to develop plans for safe reopening. Those would include hair salons, restaurants and pubs. Any business restarting their operations must ensure that they are in compliance with public health officers' orders and in line with the safety guidelines produced by WorkSafeBC. We'll support businesses that they take steps towards successful reopening. WorkSafeBC is developing industry specific guidance to help employers bring workers and customers back safely. I want to acknowledge the organizations that are already well into the planning stages, like the BC Restaurant Association who is working on a sector-wide plan for the safe reopening of that industry and the BC Recreation and Parks Association who are working to bring back their programs. Many retailers have already found ways to reopen with no touch payment and plexiglass barriers. These plans take time and we need to get them right so that workers and consumers can feel safe. Everybody has to be confident as we move into the new normal. We can't just say businesses are open, let's come and spend. Consumers need to be confident that the businesses that they're patronizing have done the hard work to be safe for their workers and their customers. We'll also be expanding access to childcare and in-class learning for K-12 students. We understand that parents have questions about the safety of their children as they return to school and it's okay for parents to be concerned. But I want to reassure you that many schools are already operating safely within class learning for the kids of essential workers. We're not going to be forcing anyone to come back, but Minister Fleming and I will be working to make sure students whose families need to have kids in class will have that opportunity. And we will continue to prepare for the full resumption of classes in September. For those that are graduating in 2020 and will not be having a ceremony, I regret that very much. I hope that there will be ways that we can mark this milestone in the days ahead and maybe next year we can have that party that you deserve after completing your grade 12 education. As we open up, we're going to be depending on our public transit system, which has seen a ridership decline in the neighborhood of 80 to 85%. We've been doing what we can to improve hygiene and physical distancing on buses and SkyTrain and we'll have more to say about that in the days ahead. Finally, we'll be recalling the legislature in the next number of weeks because elected members should be here to do what they can to collaborate on positive outcomes for the people of British Columbia. I want to acknowledge the nonpartisan approach that all members of the legislature have taken to this point in time. In the weeks ahead, Government House Leader Mike Farnworth will be discussing plans for debates about the plans we have to go forward and the ideas the opposition wants to bring to bear so the people of British Columbia can have confidence that our democracy continues to thrive and flourish in these difficult times. Receding to the next step will depend on the outcomes and the path of COVID-19. Over the next months, we will continue to expand the number of businesses and services that can operate with strict safety protocols. If we're doing well and we see more opportunities, we'll be opening up more businesses like more parks with camping. Film and television production is very close. Movie theaters, personal services like spas and hotels. Phase 4 won't be enacted until there's a vaccine, treatments for COVID-19, or community immunity has been achieved. And until these things happen, BC will not be hosting rock concerts and conventions or any other large gatherings beyond 50 people. The success of these plans depend on a number of factors. To succeed, we're going to need large-scale testing, rapid identification, and contact tracing. We're going to need 100% commitment to physical distancing, hand washing, and following the orders and guidance of Dr. Henry and BC health officials. We're going to need to hold the line on borders, including mandatory quarantine for returning travelers and a time limit and a limit, of course, on non-essential travel. We're going to need to build up our health care system and work to make sure that we are resilient in the event of a further outbreak. And we're going to need to maintain zero tolerance for illness in the workplace. If you're sick, you must stay home. Most important to our success, we need to come together as a community and as a province. Businesses cannot succeed unless we decide to support them. The only way they will survive is that people have confidence when they walk through their doors that they will be well and that business will be well at the same time. Every part of our province must be included. We have to make sure everyone is supported and that we move through this pandemic to the restart and the recovery. When I heard about people of Asian descent being pushed to the ground and buildings being defaced with anti-Chinese slogans, I was angry. Hate has no place in British Columbia, period. We need to stand together united against that type of racism whenever we see it. COVID-19 does not discriminate. British Columbians shouldn't discriminate either. If we're going to get through this, we have to stop finger pointing, put our differences aside and work together to get it done. Our province was already in a public health emergency before the spread of COVID-19. Opioid deaths continue to climb in many parts of the province. We must work to bring these deaths down as well. Climate change continues to be the challenge of our time. The wildfire season is starting and the flood season has not yet ended. And as we meet all of these challenges, we must recommit to putting Clean BC, our Climate Action Plan at the center of our recovery. Today we take our first steps. There's much more to do, but the hard work starts with every step. We will do it by continuing to support rural and remote communities. We will do it by developing partnerships with Indigenous peoples and working towards reconciliation. And we will do it by making sure we deliver the support and resources our healthcare workers need. Times are tough, but they will get better. We're going to get through this and we're going to come back even stronger. Together, we can build back BC better than ever. And someone just to my left has said it very ably, all of us need to be kind, be calm, and be safe. We're happy to take some questions. A reminder to reporters on the phone, please press star one to get in the queue and unmute your microphones. You won't be audible until I call your name. We're going to start off with one question. We will get to follow-ups. Time allowing. Our first question comes from Binder Sajan. Initially, we were crossing the gap, cubs and hand shaking. It kind of sounds like now that hugs are on the table. So if I'm really careful about it, can I hug my mom on Mother's Day? Very good question. If my mom was here, I'd want to hug her on Mother's Day. But these are choices that you have to make. We're not prescribing to British Columbians who they interact with and how they interact with them, only to say that the best way to protect everyone is to observe social distancing. Be sure you're washing your hands regularly. But if your circle has been tight and I know Binder that your circle is tight, I welcome you to hug your mom. But people have to make those choices. If your mom has got a compromised immune system, it's best to keep that distance. And we're saying quite clearly to British Columbians, as Dr. Henry and Minister Dix have been saying for over 100 days now, we have a set of rules that we follow will all come out of this better. And we have been successful as a province, extraordinarily successful by comparison to other jurisdictions in the world. Keeping in mind this is a global pandemic, British Columbians are doing very, very well, we can't give up the ground we've made. Mother's Day is coming. Act responsibly. Be comfortable with your family. Keep the gathering slow and use your common sense. Our next question is from Von Palmer. Good afternoon, Premier. I hear you saying hold the line on the borders. Does that mean that the 14-day self-isolation requirement will be maintained both at the land border and the airport arrival? And do you have any sense of how long it could be before we reopen the borders for regular crossing with the United States? That's a good question. And again, as I've said in my remarks and as Dr. Henry has directed us with the work of her team at Public Health, is that when we see evidence that the curve is flattened, when we see evidence that cases and other jurisdictions are reduced to a place that we're comfortable, we'll start to look at opening the borders in the months ahead. But at this point, if you're coming to British Columbia, it has to be for essential service or essential business. And if you do come back from somewhere else in the world and you're going to be residing in British Columbia, you will have to observe a 14-day isolation period. We're going to be monitoring that with the federal government for the foreseeable future. Our next question is from Marcella Bernardo. Hi, Crenia. Just to ask you about the source of the echo. Regarding the situation involving voluntary return to schools and childcare, I have been speaking to a lot of childcare operators who say that they're worried about being forced to open up at full capacity or wondering what safety measures will be in place. You mentioned earlier that everything's going to be voluntary. Could you elaborate on that? Well, one of the things that, you know, the silver lining, and there are numerous silver linings, as I said, people, the resilience of British Columbians, every day I marvel. One of the things that we focused on as a government when we were sworn in three years ago was developing a universal, accessible, affordable childcare plan. And now more than ever is that top of mind for British Columbians. It has been an imperative for our successes in the economy and for the well-being of families, making sure that all participants in the family can be part of the economy. Mostly women have been restricted in their access to the economy because of lack of childcare. So we've been doing what we can to build up a very robust system that has been shaken to no doubt. And we're going to continue to work with providers to make sure that they're comfortable. We're going to continue to work with early childhood educators to ensure that they're practicing physical distancing. They're working with children who are not always as amenable to suggestion, based on my experience as a parent. And we need to find ways to work through that. But I know ECEs and childcare providers are committed to their vocation, committed to the children of British Columbia. And together we'll get through this. Next, we have Justine Hunter. Key to this is staying home if you're sick. And I'm wondering if you've got any further ideas about how your government is going to support, especially those workers who are living paycheck to paycheck with that decision to stay home if you've got a sniffle. This is an issue that we've been focused on for quite a few weeks now. Again, it was the urging of the public health officer that we ensure that people do not come to the workplace when they're ill. One of the significant outbreaks that Minister Dix and Dr. Henry spoke about in the poultry sector was a result of people coming to work when they should have stayed home. That, Shauna Light, a graphic example of what we needed to address going forward, not just within this pandemic, but broadly. I acknowledged my own weaknesses in this regard, having come to work when I should have stayed home over the past couple of years, and people are not heroes when they do that. They're villains. So although when you're a villain, you need to make sure you're feeding your family. There's often an economic imperative. That's the issue we need to address. I've been working with the federal government. Minister James has raised this issue with national finance ministers, and we're going to look at whether we evoke WorkSafe to achieve this, whether we use the employment insurance programs. This is the one that we've been focusing on with the federal finance minister. We're going to find a way to get there, but we have to get there. It's imperative to our well-being. It's imperative to us not just getting past COVID-19, but making this part and parcel of how we operate in the workplace. Next, our question is from Sean Eckford. Thank you, Mr. Premier. I wanted to get back to some comments you made about the upcoming long weekend because, as you know, in coastal communities, that means one question. People traveling on the ferries and people are looking for firm guidance on what is considered an essential trip on DC ferries this coming long weekend. Can you go visit your grandmother in another town? Go to your second property, that sort of thing. Now, these are very good questions, and our direction would be if you don't need to be traveling, you shouldn't be traveling. We've been pretty clear on that. Having said that, as we start to move into the various phases of the restart plan when we get into Phase 3, later into the summer, that might be the better time to get to that second property. If you have the good fortune of owning a second property in British Columbia, a cabin or a cottage, you're a taxpayer, you have property in that community. You have a right to be there, but again, you also have to acknowledge and recognize the permanent residents in those communities may not have access to acute care facilities, may be concerned that the spread of the virus in their community is something that they want to avoid. And I think the best course of action would be to stay closer to your home until we get further into the summer. We need to make sure that our BC ferry system continues to operate. 85% reduction in ridership year over year tells me that people aren't taking non-essential trips or not an enormous amount of non-essential trips. And I hope people will exercise their good judgment and not travel to another community to enjoy the long weekend. Every corner of British Columbia is spectacular in my experience of traveling around BC through my lifetime. Wherever you live is an outstanding place. Stay there and enjoy it. Our next question is from Katie DeRosa. Hi, Premier. It's been mentioned in the European countries that there's sort of a threshold of cases or transmission rate spikes that would re-trigger lockdowns. Does BC have a trigger point for going back to further restrictions? And if so, if perhaps a second wave is coming in the fall, what could be the risk to workers and businesses if there's another shutdown? Before I ask Dr. Henry to respond to that, I'll say that British Columbia has been charting its own course from the beginning. Minister Dix and Dr. Henry raised alarm bells about COVID-19 long before anyone else was doing so, and we were benefited from that as a community, and that's why we're where we are today. We are now proceeding to the restart plan, and as I said we're going to be doing it cautiously based on the science. If we see a spike we'll respond, but Dr. Henry will be giving us advice on that, so best pass it to her. This is something obviously that we've been very concerned about thinking about from the very beginning, and that's why this thoughtful and careful approach is the way we're going. We do not want to be starting and stopping and starting and stopping, so I believe that this plan and the way we put it together gives us the tools so that we can increase our contacts, our numbers and our safe contacts in a way that keeps us on a steady state for at least the coming months. As I've mentioned before, we don't know what's going to happen at all. We don't know if there's going to be a resurgence once influenza and other respiratory viruses come back, so that's why it's so important and part of our plan to make sure that we continue to have the vigilance in the public health system, the testing that we need, the contact tracing and we'll be monitoring things very carefully. But the plan and the thoughtfulness and the purpose that we have is to make sure that we can get through at least until the fall and we see what happens. I have a question from Rob Buffum. Hi Premier, thank you for your time. I guess I just wanted to clarify in terms of the social distancing and broadening our social circles. Are people now allowed to do that immediately or as of this weekend or do they need to wait for this weekend and a related question is I'm curious what's the first thing you're going to do once these restrictions are lifted, whether it's going out for dinner, getting your head better, hugging someone. I'll let Bonnie take the first part and I'll do the second part. Not quite yet, please. We're telling you the planning. We're working with people now to get the planning. We had another 23 people who were affected today. We have hundreds of people who are following in public health still. So we have a little bit of time. We're looking at the middle of May. If things continue to go, if we're doing the same things that we're doing in the next week and a half, we will be able to go out and hug our family. And for our part, Rob, as a government, we take our guidance from right across the province. I have an economic recovery task force that represents a cross-section of British Columbians who have been giving me advice. I talk to people. In fact, I feel like I've been on the telephone since we announced the pandemic back in early March here in British Columbia. And what people are saying to me is they're anxious to get to that next phase, but they're also anxious to not give up the ground that we've made. So we've resisted announcing this plan, although we've been working on it for a month and a half, we've resisted announcing this plan because oftentimes that's the trigger. People go, oh, good. Horgan just said it's time to get back to normal. I'm not saying that. I'm saying we have a plan to move back to normal and we're going to be taking guidance along the way from British Columbians. People will open up their businesses and if no one shows up it won't be a success. We need to make sure that consumers, people are comfortable that we are doing everything we can as a society to protect each other. And it's not quite time to get back to regular operating procedure. We have laid out a plan that will go in phases. We expect to see the Victoria Day Long weekend. We'll see more businesses see their plans put in place. We'll see more doors opening. Restaurants will start to operate. Pubs will start to open. You can get that haircut provided that we have a good understanding of how we can operate these businesses with appropriate physical distancing and safety as the highest priority. WorkSafe is there to help. Public Health Officers are there to help. I think all businesses want to get going and they also want people to show up and that means all hanging together and waiting a few more days before we start the real restart plan which we'll begin after the Victoria Day Long weekend. Tanya Fletcher is next. Hi Premier. You've outlined a rough timeline for all those things you just mentioned month to month for specifically business owners wanting dates. Now we know sectors will kind of submit industry specific plans for approval but what exactly can that be expedited and is there concern of perhaps a backlog? Well many as I said many of our industries have been operating admittedly at reduced speed but through Dr. Henry and WorkSafe BC we may maintained our construction industry. We have construction sites whether it's residential construction building of schools, hospitals roads you name it what the part and parcel of building British Columbia has been going on admittedly at reduced pace. Now we can start to look at ratcheting that up but we still have to keep these principles in place by not shutting down the way other jurisdictions did we instead focused on how can we operate safely. We've been successful and we need to continue with that success by ensuring as we look at the industries and businesses that were closed by order that they are working with WorkSafe to make sure there's a framework of guidance for them to proceed that make sure that their customers are comfortable that make sure that the health officers are comfortable and that we don't have an influx of patients coming into our acute care system. Our next question is from Kat Slipian. Hi there these guys have said that international travel is off the table for probably a long time to come what about travel throughout Canada it's kind of the middle line that people start to move around a bit more this summer. Well again I think that the market will decide some of this if there are no flights there's not going to be a lot of people getting on planes if there are people demanding to get on planes there'll be more flights we want to make sure that that's done in a reasonable way. I know that the YVR our major airport in Vancouver has been working over the past a number of weeks to find ways to safely safely operate I don't know how many images we've seen often times during holidays certainly at Christmas where airports are packed with people side by side frustrated at the ticket wickets asking where my flight is why did it get cancelled we cannot have that type of behavior that is just not going to be on so as we start to see more travel again I would suggest probably later in the summer if at all international travel again will be determined by the number of flights and the number of people that are prepared to get on them these are personal choices that people will have to make we're going to support them as best we can by making sure that there are guidelines in place for appropriate operation that will keep people safe and will allow the economy to continue to restart and grow into the future Up next is Keith Baldry Again not to belabor the point on timing but mid-May if I'm a restaurant owner do I have a reasonable expectation I can open my restaurant on May 15 if I make the changes required under the new rules and secondly the kids sports came up in the technical briefing I haven't heard that today I just want to know how you envision kids sports playing out over the summer Well I'll start with the back and work to the front Keith the BC Recreation Association Parks and Recreation Association has been working to try and find ways that kids sports and summer camps and all of the things that make for an exciting summer for young people can take place and we're going to be working with them through public health to see if there's a way that we can see that happening there's been talk about professional sports as well that's a different discussion that involves often times people in seats I think that a local baseball game if people are using their own equipment they're not sharing equipment of course the bat is the bat but we can try our best to keep the bats clean I think that we'll see what local community organizations come up with and again what parents do by showing up with their kids on the larger question we are going to be opening provincial parks most provincial parks for day use on the 14th of May before the long weekend our expectation is that the restart plan will kick in on the 19th of May which is the Tuesday after the long weekend so I think that we wanted to make sure that people had a starting point to start preparing people have been doing that we've now given a plan we understand how we're going to operate I'm going to be asking all members of the legislature to be sounding boards in their community the best way for us to receive information is through an MLA's office so if you have a business that want more details contact your MLA these are going to be challenges for elected representatives but the non-partisan approach that we brought to bear here minister Dix conducting numerous town halls with opposition members to make sure we're giving the public the information they need we're going to continue doing that in the restart will politics reemerge in BC I'm sure it will but for now we want all members of the legislature to be the point where companies and businesses if they can't get access directly to work safe they can't get access directly to public health officials of course we can start to set that up that's one of the roles and functions of MLA's offices they're non-partisan offices this is one of the tools we'll use to make sure people can access that information and get their businesses up and running our next question is from Graham Wood Hi Premier what's your message to places of worship can you kind of give a difference between how I can't have more than six people in my house a place of worship or a restaurant perhaps could have 49 people well firstly on faith-based gatherings Dr. Henry and minister Dix and I have repeatedly had a number of conversations with faith leaders across the province multi-denominational multi-faith discussions and often times worship involves gatherings of numerous people whether it's a Godwara, a temple a synagogue, a church we have been saying to faith leaders and faith leaders have been practicing with their congregations safe physical distancing and still being connected whether it be through virtual gatherings most temples most churches are large facilities you can have a number of people appropriately distanced you can have multiple services throughout the week there are a whole bunch of ways that individual faiths will try to address these issues going forward I don't know how many living rooms there are in British Columbia where 50 people could gather comfortably but there are certainly restaurants that have a capacity well exceeding that and those restaurants are putting in place plexiglass barriers they're moving the number of tables they're spreading out the number of tables they're working with their staff they're talking about regular temperature checks of employees and a host of other issues the notion of wearing non-medical masks this is going to be I think part and parcel of our transit system going forward but we're still working on those issues we've been pretty clear Dr. Henry's been clear a non-medical mask will not protect you necessarily from COVID-19 but it may protect someone else if you happen to be a carrier so we'll be looking at all of those issues and it's about common sense you can't have 50 people jammed into a small space but you could have 49 people spread through a larger space particularly when it comes to things like gatherings of particular religions next we have Penny Davlos hi there I'm hearing a lot of the common sense hi, can you hear me now? it's really loud sorry about that there have been a lot of infants born in the last couple of months families are really eager to share these new family members with loved ones and I'm just wondering if you can offer some advice for new parents what they should do in the circumstance everyone wants to cuddle those kids and I just hope that you can give us some advice particularly with Mother's Day on the horizon great question it's one of those important events in our lives right now we need to hold the line and we need to keep our circles small so now's not the time to do that but we are looking at come the end of the middle of May yes, if things continue to go the risk is low enough in our community but these are the decisions you're going to have to make if you expand your circle you know that you're going to be in contacts of their contacts so you need to do it thoughtfully and you need to understand the risk in your family and we do know infants are at risk of having more severe illness we know that we need to protect them from a whole bunch of things so absolutely, spread your circle but be very aware and be very careful and it's not you might have to do it in small steps right now next we have Mary Brooke hi, thanks for taking my question your data modeling and your current plans are for people to be doing 60% of normal distancing or 40% physical distancing and in the fine print it says that this data is stable for about four weeks so what sort of things would cause you to impose more restrictions on social interaction again so just to say that this is modeling and that's a caveat because modeling is only good it only reflects what's being put into it and so it is something that has helped us come up with this strategies that we're talking about so it's a common sense way it helps us say okay if we are between where we are now and we can essentially double our contacts then we'll probably be okay and we'll be continuing to follow the models and putting in our data as we go along so it's not that that's going to predict what's happening and what we need to know is that that gives a little bit of a sense of what could happen and how can we increase our social connections and increase our economy and get things moving again but staying within that safety zone so really it's not 61 or 62 or 49 it's about saying okay we need to take some measures to increase our numbers of contacts and the safety of the contacts that we have and that's the way that we can stay in that safe zone we have time for two more questions first, Lisa used up you guys are going to pass me up today sorry about that premier I'm wondering what your biggest concern is going forward is it making sure that people are going to stay home when sick is it to have that back up in place for as just you said people who are working you know check to check well I have a thousand concerns I don't put them in a hierarchy every day all of us have come to work in extraordinary circumstances and every day has been a day that we've never experienced before and we've all been doing our best across sectors across communities across the country in fact to try and find a way to bring unity to bring social cohesion to ensure the health and well-being of all British Columbians and all Canadians so those are the primary focuses and that's at the higher level when we get down to the basics I'm concerned that 400,000 British Columbians have applied for the emergency worker benefit program that we've had open for the past five days or six days today 400,000 British Columbians out of work that's a big challenge and it's going to take time to absorb those workers back into the economy but the good news is before the pandemic BC had a robust economy and one of our bigger challenges was finding workers for jobs so I think the future is going to be solid but we need to make sure that future is focused on public health and ensuring that workplaces are safe for workers, they're safe for customers and that all British Columbians will benefit again from a strong and robust economy but we are in uncharted territory and every day we try and find the best way forward together and we have the benefit of a superlative public health officer, a very good friend and outstanding health minister and a cabinet and a legislature at the present time that is singularly focused on the best outcomes for British Columbians and that I don't think has ever happened before so we should take some comfort in that Our final question is from Richard Zisman Premier on schools, what do you say to teachers and parents who are hearing this nervous about going back and can you explain to them what these routine daily screenings look like and for families that are involved in sports, I know Keith asked about this but more specifically I'm hearing a lot from hockey players, do you expect that there will be hockey games played at any point in this year here in British Columbia for kids or even rec league adults? Well, hockey and other sports whether they're played in beer leagues or whether it's youth minor or hockey organizations we're going to be working through that into the fall we have a season ahead of us for baseball and other summer activities, we're going to be focusing on that first and foremost I have written to the head of the NHL as well as the NHL Players Association to offer British Columbia as a place to potentially restart the NHL assuming that the games will be played without audiences but instead will be played for television, unfortunately the BC Lions need to have bums and seats and I don't see that happening but we'll be working with the CFL as well which also creates economic activity within our community on the broader issue of going back to school. Rob Fleming has been working with Terry Morring the head of the BC Teachers Federation with other support workers in the system with trustees, with parent groups, we want to make sure that we can safely get kids back into classrooms. It's not just about reading, writing and arithmetic I answered a question from a viewer on one of the television networks yesterday a young viewer who wanted to get back to school to see her friends and that is a reasonable thing for young people to do. School is a place of joy for many people it may not have been for some but it is a place of joy for young people and they want to get back to it but we want to make sure that's done safely and we don't want anyone to feel that they're obliged to. We've seen virtual learning taking place over the past number of weeks positive outcomes there but it's not perfect. We want to make sure we can make sure that we can get back to school. We want to make sure that we don't run between now and the end of June or the beginning of June to the end of June. We're not anticipating any increase in class teaching until well after the May long weekend but Minister Fleming and I will be having more to say about that probably later next week or perhaps after the long weekend but what I'm hearing from people is are there concerns? Absolutely they're learning about not just how to read, how to write and how to count but also how to interact with other people this brings up the issue I raised earlier about racism in British Columbia. Our social interactions in our schools, multicultural schools where there are people from around the world, young kids there's a school district in Burnaby, 109 languages are spoken in one of the schools in Edmonds in Burnaby that is an outstanding thing to talk about and that is the type of British Columbia that we all want to see people working together in harmony enjoying living in one of the greatest places on the planet. School is a vital part of that we're not going to force anyone but we're working with all of the various stakeholders and they're numerous. Everyone's got a common purpose and that's to make sure that we can get kids back into classrooms in a safe manner and see full participation until September if at that time. Thank you everyone, that's all the time we have. Thanks everybody.