The Northern Health Region is getting significant donations to help it cope with the COVID-19, thanks to LNG development in B.C.
LNG Canada has announced it will donate $500,000, with half of the money earmarked for Northern Health for procurement of equipment for the communities of Kitimat and Terrace.
The rest will go to hospitals, First Nations, front-line workers and service organizations in the north.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is putting tremendous stress on our communities and we’re hoping our contribution today will assist in collective efforts to protect people through prevention and care,” LNG Canada CEO Peter Zebedee said in a press release.
The LNG Canada donation follows an earlier announcement by the Haisla First Nation that it would be donating $300,000 to the Kitimat General Hospital Foundation.
The Northern Health region is actually the least affected of all regions in B.C. in terms of COVID-19 cases. There are roughly 300,000 people in the Northern Health region, which has two dozen hospitals.
As of April 14, there were a total of 28 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Northern Health region, with 21 people recovered.
Only three people are in hospital in the entire health region, according to Northern Health spokesperson Eryn Collins. There have been no deaths and no outbreaks in long-term care facilities.
Like all health regions, Collins said the health region does need more personal protective equipment for front-line workers.
