The Premier says he has not interfered with how Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry has managed the COVID-19 pandemic in the province.

John Horgan says that is not how they operate but he says his office is in regular contact with public health officials.

“We come to conclusions based on the best advice we get from public health and then we implement those decisions in the best interest of British Columbians,” he said last Thursday.

“We made a decision early on that the challenges that we were facing were not going to be short term challenges. It wasn’t going to be a couple of months and we are back to normal. We knew this was going to be grueling, and I am very comfortable with the approaches that we have taken.”

Horgan made those comments after reports of political interference in Ontario and Alberta over how to fight the pandemic in those provinces.

“Dr. Henry’s approach, Minister Dix’s approach, my approach was lets find ways to safely operate. Lets find ways to keep the economy going with public health front and centre,” he added. “We were successful in the first wave, we got challenges today, but we have a track record of success together.”

Yesterday, B.C. recorded its deadliest weekend of the COVID-19 pandemic with 46 deaths and 2,364 cases since Friday’s update. Of the 441 deaths from COVID-19, 172 were in the past four weeks.

Active cases across the province are up to a new record 8,855 with a record 316 people in hospital, 75 in ICU – also a new record.

“This has been a challenging pandemic for all of us,” Dr. Henry said. “I am heartened, immensely, that most people in B.C. are doing the right thing.”