B.C.'s record-breaking state of emergency extended again

VANCOUVER -- B.C.'s record-breaking state of emergency has been extended again, the province announced Tuesday.

This marks the tenth time the province has issued and reissued the state of emergency since the start of the pandemic. The first was issued on March 18, the day after provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus.

The state of emergency gives officials the ability to use extraordinary powers under the Emergency Program Act during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement released Tuesday, Premier John Horgan praised British Columbians for following the advice of public health officials but cautioned that the virus has not gone away.

"We are still in the midst of a pandemic, and we're not out of the woods yet," he said.

States of emergency can only be extended two weeks at a time, so the latest will remain in place until Aug. 4.

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  Premier John Horgan is joined by Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix as they discuss reopening the province's economy in phases in response to the COVID-19 pandemic during a press conference in the rotunda at Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on Wednesday May 6, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito