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Island medical team stresses virus prevention measures

Elizabeth Nolan
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Island medical team stresses virus prevention measures

Salt Spring Island medical leaders are asking the community to cooperate to decrease the risk of COVID-19, while also offering reassurance about the local situation.

Dr. Holly Slakov, who is chief of staff at Lady Minto Hospital, confirmed Friday morning that so far there are no cases of the virus known on Salt Spring and only one travel-related case in the entire Island Health district.

In order to help keep the situation under control, people are being asked to follow the provincial health officer’s recommendations and new regulations announced yesterday, which include a ban on any public gatherings of more than 250 people. Islanders are also asked to not show up at Lady Minto Hospital for COVID-19 testing without being specifically directed there by health professionals.

“The most important thing for the public to know is to stay home,” Slakov said. “Please don’t come to the hospital and expect testing if you are asymptomatic.”

Symptoms of COVOD-19 resemble the flu or cold and could include cough, sneezing, fever, sore throat and difficulty breathing. Testing of people who don’t have those symptoms would produce unreliable results, and would only overwhelm the system, Slakov said. People who do have symptoms and have a known risk such as recent travel should contact their healthcare provider or call HealthLink BC at 8-1-1. However, Slakov added, because HealthLink BC is now being inundated, Salt Spring’s public health office is the recommended number to call at 250-538-4880 from Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 

If patients are directed to go to Lady Minto Hospital for testing as a result of the telephone conversation, the hospital has set up a separate entrance/meeting area for all people exhibiting respiratory illness. Staff will meet patients outside and direct them further.

“Most people will be advised to stay home and isolate,” said Slakov. “For the few that need intensive care unit support, they will be transferred off-island as we do not have an ICU on Salt Spring. This is the same as what happens now for patients who have influenza and need ICU support.”

“There is a lot of work going on in Island Health on how to increase the ICU beds that are available,” Slakov said. “We are prepared. We are taking this very seriously. I myself am feeling more reassured we have the right preparations in place — but we need people to do their part. That’s the biggest message.”

While Salt Spring is considered to be low risk at this point, 65 per cent of the population is vulnerable. Anyone who feels sick is being asked to stay home. Frequent hand-washing and social distancing are the best preventive measures, and people who usually greet with a hug should switch to a wave.

In addition to the required cancellation of large gatherings, many community organizations are voluntarily postponing events for the time being. (See Salt Spring list below.) The province has strongly discouraged non-essential to countries outside Canada, including the United States. As of yesterday the health authorities are asking anyone who does travel to self-quarantine for 14 days after their return.

The B.C. government has been giving daily updates with Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix. Slakov said the Lady Minto Hospital Medical Staff Association will also be providing frequent updates on the local situation.

For more information, see the BC Centre for Disease Control website at www.bccdc.ca.

CANCELLATIONS

Groups that have so far announced cancellations of events or services on Salt Spring Island are:

• Chamber of Commerce. March 27-29 home show is cancelled. Visitor Centre is closed.

• ArtSpring. All Met Opera performances to March 31, plus the March 13 Salt Spring Forum event, the choral workshop and associated concert, and Celebration of the Arts on March 28. ArtSpring also notes: “To help keep the public healthy we have implemented extra disinfecting and sanitation measures throughout our spaces including disinfecting all high-touch surfaces before each show and sanitizing every surface in our washrooms. Also we have added signage on recommended precautions, and are in the process of installing additional hand-sanitizers.”

• Salt Spring Folk Club’s March 16 concert and likely the Gumboot Gala in April as well.

• Theatre Alive’s March 18 staged reading of Gently Down the Stream.

• Salt Spring Gallery March 20 opening event for Claudia Wilholt show. (The exhibition itself will continue as planned.)

• Salt Spring Arts Council March 15 AGM.

• Salt Spring Garden Club’s March 25 event.

• Salt Spring Hospice Society March 25 AGM.

• Kathy Page and Cathy Stonehouse reading at the library on March 28.

We are waiting to hear back from some organizations about their closure/cancellation plans. Some churches have indicated they will continue to hold Sunday services. Please contact your church for the most up-to-date information.

Island Health COVID-19 screening criteria outlined

Driftwood Staff
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Island Health COVID-19 screening criteria outlined

The following was provided to the Driftwood by Lady Minto Hospital chief of staff Dr. Holly Slakov. Note that individuals should have one of the 4 listed exposures as well as the respiratory symptoms outlined.

COVID-19 testing is recommended for:

SYMPTOMATIC patients with respiratory symptoms consistent with COVID-19, including fever, cough, malaise/fatigue, rhinorrhoea, sore throat, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, chest pain.

AND one or more of the following exposures in the 14 days PRIOR to symptom onset:

1) Confirmed high-risk contact* with a known COVID-19 case

2) Received credible notification that they were in contact or may have been in contact with a COVID-19 case (e.g. mass gathering, specific public setting, visited/worked at COVID outbreak facility)

3) Household contact of an ill international traveller within 14 days of the traveller’s arrival

4) Travel outside of Canada (within 14 ays of onset of symptoms)

* A high-risk close contact is defined by the BC Centre for Disease Control as a person who:

• provided care for the case, including healthcare workers, family members or other caregivers, or who had other similar close physical contact (e.g., intimate partner) without consistent and appropriate use of personal protective equipment, OR

• who lived with or otherwise had close prolonged (refer to 1 above) contact (within 2 metres) with a probable or confirmed case while the case was ill, OR

• had direct contact with infectious body fluids of a probable or confirmed case (e.g., was coughed or sneezed on) while not wearing recommended personal protective equipment

No Salt Spring COVID-19 cases but preventative measures urged

Contributed Article
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No Salt Spring COVID-19 cases but preventative measures urged

Salt Spring health practitioners have confirmed that as of Thursday, March 12, Salt Spring Island has no diagnosed cases of COVID-19 and consider the island to be at low risk.

However, they note in a message to the community that 65 per cent of the island’s population is vulnerable so now is the time to take preventive measures.

In a public statement they stress:

We want to be as proactive as possible to protect everyone, and to that end, strongly recommend the following:

1. Gatherings/meetings and community events

– Consider cancelling all regular gatherings/meetings and postpone any planned major community events for the next two months (until mid-May).
– Wherever possible, replace gatherings/meetings with teleconferences and on-line meetings or other options that don’t involve groups of people confined in small spaces.

2. Older members of our community and those with weakened immune systems or underlying medical conditions

– Avoid attending any community gatherings.
– Don’t fly or take any cruises for the next two months.

3. Businesses and Community Venues on Salt Spring

– As many of you are already doing, provide your staff and customers/clients with access to sanitizers.
– To protect your staff and customers, increase the frequency of protocols for disinfecting your premises.

4. Everyone on Salt Spring

– Our recommendations are guided by caution, preparedness and the need to avoid panic.
– Wash your hands with soap for at least 20 seconds several times a day.
– Avoid touching your face.
– Keep a social distance from everyone else: an arm and a half’s length away.

Refer to recognized trusted agencies for facts. Several sites are posted below.

If you have questions, call 811 or the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) hotline number: 1.833.784.4397.

Credible internet links include (copy and paste from the list below):

BCCDC on Covid19: http://www.bccdc.ca/about/news-stories/stories/2020/information-on-novel-coronavirus

Island Medical Staff Website: https://medicalstaff.islandhealth.ca/news-events/coronavirus-updates

British Columbia Pandemic Preparedness: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/pandemic-influenza

World Health Organization Covid19: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

Canadians travelling abroad are encouraged to consult the Canadian Travel Advisories: https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/advisories

Island Health MHO Newsletters: https://www.islandhealth.ca/about-us/medical-health-officers/mho-newsletters

Public Health Ontario Literature Review: https://www.publichealthontario.ca/en/diseases-and-conditions/infectious-diseases/respiratory-diseases/novel-coronavirus/articles

Update on new and existing COVID-19 cases in B.C.: https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2020HLTH0074-000470

Salt Spring Island Health Center COVID-19 information: https://ssihealth.ca/covid-19/

And finally…
We realize some of the measures we’re recommending may be inconvenient, but we believe they are in the best interests of the health and wellness of our community and everyone in it.
While regular social interactions are suspended, it’s important that we stay connected and support each other even if it’s just through a quick phone call, email or one-on-one visit between neighbours.
We will monitor the situation and adjust our recommendations as indicated.
In the meantime, please maintain good hygiene practices, support your friends and neighbours and refer to credible sources for current information.

Province enacts measures to quell COVID-19’s advance

Elizabeth Nolan
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Province enacts measures to quell COVID-19’s advance

Aggressive new measures to slow COVID-19 in British Columbia announced today will prohibit all public gatherings of more than 250 people, and strongly discourage any nonessential travel outside of Canada.

Anyone who does choose to travel will be asked to stay home from work or school for 14 days after they return.

Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said during the media briefing with B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix the 250-limit for public gatherings is not a scientific number but appears most prudent. Authorities are asking employers to facilitate working from home and to maintain distances between people in work places when possible.

“These are measures for now. They’re not forever,” Henry said.

The health authorities will be working with schools and ministry of education on how handle those workplace measures. They don’t feel for now it’s appropriate to close schools. Henry said the timing of spring break, which starts on Monday for most of the province, is fortunate because it gives officials time to work with educators to make sure the correct policy is in place in the coming weeks.

“This is something we will be reviewing daily,” Henry said, adding officials will continue to reassess daily and weekly. “I believe these actions are necessary right now to slow down the spread of the disease and to protect our communities in British Columbia.”

Henry said the new measures are important to stop the spread of the virus and flatten the curve of infection to prevent transmission to the most vulnerable and protect the health care system from being overwhelmed.

Forum COVID-19 session via video only

Driftwood Staff
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Forum COVID-19 session via video only

The Salt Spring Forum has cancelled Friday’s public event focusing on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19),with guest speaker Dr. Kevin Patterson and changed it to a video-only format.

It will be viewable on Saturday, March 14 on the Salt Spring Forum website.

This is the full statement from the Salt Spring Forum, issued at 1:30 on Thursday.

A CHANGE OF PLANS

A week ago, when concern over the spread of the COVID-19 virus was mounting, we at the forum had the good idea to engage our community in a conversation with two knowledgeable Salt Springers about the virus, about the nature of such epidemics, about best practices for prevention and care, and about whatever else our community might find useful to know. We invited Dr. Kevin Patterson and Aletha Humphreys (director of Greenwoods) for one of our traditional Forum evening discussions at ArtSpring. Both are happy to join us, and of course without any thought of remuneration.

What a difference a week makes.

It has become clear that public gatherings are getting quite risky. “Social distancing” is recommended as a key component in keeping the epidemic within the bounds of what the health care system can cope with, a point that Kevin made on CBC radio this morning.

So here’s what we’re going to do: We’ll still go ahead with the conversation with our guests, only we’ll do it without a live audience. We have arranged with a professional video producer to film the discussion between Kevin and Aletha, and then we’ll post the result on the Forum’s website (www.saltspringforum.com), hopefully by Saturday morning.

Here is what you can do: 1) Please e-mail us specific questions you would like us to pose to our guests as soon as you can to forum@saltspringforum.com. We’ll gather them up and do our best to have them answered. 2) If you have already purchased tickets, we’ll be happy to get you a refund. Alternatively, if you’d be willing to treat your tickets as a donation, that would be most helpful for us to cover the costs both of renting ArtSpring and paying for the video. Either way, please put your tickets into an envelope and leave it for us at the ArtSpring Box Office. Please include your address so we can send you either a refund or a tax receipt, as you choose.

Islanders visiting Italy seek way home

Elizabeth Nolan
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Islanders visiting Italy seek way home

Two Salt Spring residents have found themselves caught in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy, which has just been declared the new epicentre of a virus that has reached global pandemic status.

Heidi Crouse and her 17-year-old son Seth are part-way through what was supposed to be a month-long trip to Europe, and are now trying to get a flight home to Canada. The hotel they are staying in has remained open to accommodate them but would like to close Thursday, as the Italian government imposed travel bans, banned public events and closed schools across much of the country this week.

“We’re trying to make the best of it. I’m surprisingly good — usually I stress out a lot,” Crouse told the Driftwood on a phone call from Florence. “In some ways it’s wonderful to be in a beautiful city that normally would be so crowded. It would never happen normally. So here we are.”

As of Wednesday Italy had reported more than 10,000 cases of COVID-19, with 827 deaths. The outbreak started in the Lombardy region, of which Milan is the capital city. But when the Crouses first started planning the visit last fall, COVID-19 was an unknown threat.

Attending the 18th birthday party for a beloved international student billet at his home in Milan was the impetus for the trip. The mother and son pair was then going to meet up with a Gulf Islands Secondary School trip that Heidi’s husband/Seth’s dad Dean Crouse was leading, and then continue to London to see family members.

“We thought, this is close to spring break, Dean’s class was going to Florence and we had family in England — it’s all lining up to be perfect,” Crouse said. “So I took Seth out of school and said, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s have fun.’”

With Seth in Grade 11 in the French Immersion stream, the Crouses started their European trip in Paris. They were immediately impacted by the virus, although the outbreak was at lesser levels. They waited for hours in the rain to get into the Louvre on the same day that workers walked out. Museum administrators failed to declare the facility closed and let people wait in line.

The next stop was the French part of Switzerland, where they had a lovely three days and were kind of out of touch with the news. Then Crouse received a phone call from their former billet letting them know that things were getting worse, but that they could still visit. She checked the Canadian government website several times to find travel was still deemed fine with the normal precautions.

“So we went, and Edoardo’s family was so amazing. They took us right out of Milan to their place in the Italian Alps,” Crouse said.

Heading back to Milan after the birthday celebration, though, the family was aware that a quarantine was about to be announced for the Lombardy region. The Crouses took a train to the Cinque Terre region the next morning. Once there they were told to try to get somewhere with an airport, so they proceeded to Florence. They arrived there on Tuesday, March 10.

With the GISS trip to Italy and Greece already cancelled by that point, Crouse had been planning to fly to London early. Then she got word that she would not be able to see her family member there, who happens to be an emergency room doctor.

The hope now is to get to Rome and find a flight home to Canada, although tickets are going for around $4,000 and it’s still not clear what insurance will cover for the cancelled flights. The Driftwood will be staying in touch for an update on their situation.

In related news, Gulf Islands School District superintendent Scott Benwell reported at the March 11 school board meeting that in addition to the Italy/Greece trip being cancelled, the planned GISS music trip to Cuba and a day trip to Seattle for international students are also not happening. The GISS Improv team will still be allowed to go to national championships in Ottawa in May.

Letter from islander in an Italian ‘red zone’

Contributed Article
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Letter from islander in an Italian ‘red zone’

By TAELOR LAY

It’s a sunny Sunday morning, streets bustling with couples young and old out for morning walks, families taking their children for bike rides, runners taking advantage of the sunny morning and people sitting on cafe patios reading the newspaper while enjoying a cappuccino and brioche. Walking these streets is like taking a breath of fresh air as spring flowers begin to bloom.

At first glance, it’s nearly impossible to tell that this is the “Northern Italy” that is making headlines around the world. The “red-zoned,” “terrifying,” “chaotic” Northern Italy that many people live in fear of right now is nowhere to be seen. How do I know that there is no fear and chaos running through these streets? I live here. More specifically, I live in Brescia, Lombardy, which is about an hour north of Milan.

As you may have heard by now, one of the most well-documented and widespread outbreaks of COVID-19 is currently here in Northern Italy. As I write this, Italy has confirmed 7,375 cases and 366 deaths of patients testing positive for the virus. These statistics make Italy the third most impacted country by the virus, following China and South Korea.

So, what does it mean to be in a “red zone?” For the average person living in the “red zones” of Italy, it means schools, non-emergency medical clinics (physiotherapy, chiropractic, etc), libraries, fitness centres, museums, shopping centres, stadiums and all other public venues that host more than a few people at a time are closed indefinitely.

    Travel outside of our regions for any non-emergency or non-work-related purposes is prohibited indefinitely. People must keep a minimum of one metre between themselves at all times. Businesses such as cafés, bars, restaurants, small stores and hair salons, which are still permitted to remain open, must ensure that their customers are at least one metre apart at all times or they could face penalties from local authorities. (This is a brief summary of a 20-page document released to Italians by the federal government late Saturday night.)

It’s easy to understand how this would bring people to panic, however, any Italian will tell you that the disproportionate panic around the virus is harmful and unnecessary. While people clear grocery store shelves of soap and toilet paper in North America “just in case,” Italians go about their everyday lives, continuing to pursue their undying love of friends, family, community and food to guide their decisions. Unlike the panicked response many of us are seeing in North America, Italians conduct their lives with a sense of unparallelled calm and rationale.

The Italians with whom I’m lucky enough to live, study and work, continue to go about their lives as normally as possible, choosing positive attitudes and rationale while paying extra attention to the needs of the more vulnerable people in their lives. Instead of panicking, they’re continuing to go about their lives in good humour, educating themselves on the circumstances and responding appropriately. 

Takeaway: Italians are responding to the situation, not reacting. They are responding to a potential epidemic by ensuring the safety of their fellow Italians. They are not, however, clearing grocery store shelves or allowing their emotions to take over their lives. Children are still playing, buses still running, private workplaces still functioning. Those who cannot remain in their public workplaces continue to work from home. Children continue with their studies online in an organized, routine way. In spite of the abnormality of these circumstances, the people of Northern Italy continue to find ways to care for the vulnerable people in their lives, continue with their work and studies, continue to share meals with loved ones and build a sense of community regardless of the “chaos” going on in the world right now.

I hope that COVID-19 doesn’t touch the lives of Salt Springers or any Canadians as much as it has for us here in Italy. If the time comes, however, for Canadians to face a similar situation, it’s worth learning a thing or two from the positive, proactive, responsive (not reactive) and calm people who call Northern Italy home.

The writer grew up on Salt Spring and is studying languages and teaching English in Brescia, Lombardy, Italy. 

Editor’s note: This piece was submitted to the Driftwood on Monday, March 9. Since then, all of Italy has been subject to red zone restrictions. As of Wednesday morning, the number of confirmed cases was 10,149 and the number of deaths at 631.

Theatre Alive explores changing gay reality

Elizabeth Nolan
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Theatre Alive explores changing gay reality

Theatre Alive’s staged reading series moves on from aging female rage to the changing nature of relationships between gay men as a theme, with a presentation of Gently Down the Stream coming to Mahon Hall on March 18.

The riveting and hilarious reading of Caryl Churchill’s play Escaped Alone in February gave audience members an idea of what this series produced by Chris Humphreys can offer. Great contemporary writing paired with the right cast and director can engage the viewer just as well as a full-blown, off-book production.

Humphreys brought in frequent community theatre collaborators Suzanne Rouger and Scott Merrick for this month’s pick, which he specifically wanted to reflect LGBTQ concerns and is sponsored by DAISSI.

It was Merrick who discovered Martin Sherman’s latest work, which premiered in New York in 2017. He was in the process of reading five scripts with gay-related themes he had ordered when Gently Down the Stream arrived.

“As soon as I started reading it I said ‘This is the one,’” he reported.

According to a synopsis, the play “reflects the triumphs and heartbreaks of the entire length of the gay rights movement, celebrating and mourning the ghosts of the men and women who led the way for equality, marriage and the right to dream.”

It does so primarily through the character Beau, a pianist expat living in London who’s been wounded by his experiences as a gay man in an intolerant world. Things begin to change after Beau meets Rufus, a much younger lawyer with a different worldview, just as internet dating starts to take off in 2001.

“I think this is a good choice,” said Rouger, who directs the performance. “It’s such a beautiful story regardless of who it’s talking about. It’s about humanity and being humane. It’s such a beautiful story of pain and loss, but then of hope as well.’

“And love — lots of love,” Merrick added.

Merrick plays Beau and has found much to relate to in the older man’s journey through things like the gay rights movement and the AIDS crisis. Wasonti:io Adam Morris plays Rufus and island newcomer Wyatt Floerke plays Harry, another young gay man who becomes part of their chosen family group.

A New York Times review of the original production called the play both a romance and a history lesson. Beau’s monologues serve to catalogue some important and terrible markers in the timeline, as well as naming gay icons and activists. The play also offers hope that some things have changed. Rufus and Harry may have benefitted from what others before them have achieved, but their ability to love more openly also helps heal the hurts people like Beau have endured.

Rouger notes the advice often given to writers to be successful is to “write what you know.”

“It’s so supremely evident that Martin Sherman is writing what he knows. The descriptions, the details — he had to have lived it. And the way he talks about how people feel is so dialled in,” Rouger said.

Merrick said it’s a good thing this presentation is a staged reading because there is one monologue he hasn’t been able to make it through without crying yet. But there are also plenty of laughs between the moving passages.

“The other two characters are so young and full of life. They haven’t been through all the things my character’s been through,” Merrick observed. “And Adam and Wyatt are both so good. The two of them are so open-minded about everything.”

“Anyone who has a heart cannot fail to respond,” Rouger said. “They won’t be able to resist falling for these people.”

Audiences are warned the play is not appropriate for children because of its sexual content and coarse language.

Tickets will be available at the door at Mahon Hall.

The show starts at 7 p.m.

Islanders call for a walkable Ganges

Elizabeth Nolan
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Islanders call for a walkable Ganges

The call for a more pedestrian-friendly experience in Ganges is being heard around Salt Spring with local community organizations presenting several options for exploration over the past months.

The Salt Spring Transportation Commission voted on Feb. 24 to endorse a petition calling for a reduced speed zone throughout Ganges village. The petition, which was started by commissioner Myna Lee Johnstone as a private citizen’s initiative, calls for 30 km/hr speed limits on Lower Ganges/Fulford-Ganges roads from the intersection of Brinkworthy to Alders roads.

As confirmed at the Feb. 24 meeting, the commission’s top priorities for 2020 are completing the first phase of a safe pathway on Lower Ganges Road, from Central to Baker Road, and the North Ganges Transportation Plan network.

The commission is additionally working on pedestrian/cycling improvements on Ganges Hill as part of a ministry repaving project. While the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has committed to a paved 1.2-metre shoulder on both sides of the road, the commission is looking into whether there could be an extension on the one side to make things easier for cyclists.

“On the uphill side it would be useful and that’s what staff are negotiating with MoTI: a., is it feasible, and b., if there’s an incremental cost, what that would be,” CRD director Gary Holman told the commission. “That will be over to us, and I’ve already indicated to the ministry and to staff that I’m willing to provide some gas tax funding to support those incremental costs.”

Another item on the commission’s priority list is starting to facilitate low-cost/no-cost fixes to address things like crosswalk painting and mobility ramp access. A new committee to work on GASP — the Ganges Accessibility and Safety Plan — has already created a report identifying many of those issues downtown. The members now intend to get to work asking private business owners to fix problems that are on their properties, and to make recommendations for ministry repairs in areas that are clearly on its right-of-way.

These initiatives fit well with the future Ganges envisioned by Island Pathways, a group that frequently works with SSITC under the Partners Creating Pathways umbrella.

Member Bob MacKie gave a presentation at Island Pathways’ annual general meeting in February on Walkable Ganges, a project he has been working on with Elisa Rathje. Walkable Ganges is a visioning document that asks the community to imagine a future downtown village with fewer cars, and maps out a scenario for getting there.

For more on this story, see the March 11, 2019 issue of the Gulf Islands Driftwood newspaper, or subscribe online.

Sneakers get results at Port Alberni Paper Chase

Contributed Article
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Sneakers get results at Port Alberni Paper Chase

By SUSAN GORDON

DRIFTWOOD CONTRIBUTOR

Winter passes quickly when there are races every second weekend.

Event number five in the Vancouver Island Running Association’s 2020 series saw a dedicated group of Salt Spring Sneakers and friends either spend the night or rise exceptionally early to make the 6 a.m. ferry for the drive to the Port Alberni Paper Chase 15K, held Sunday, March 8.

Fastest runner among the Sneakers was Gary Myers, finishing in 1:10:07 and 13th place in his age group.

A notable 15K personal best time was achieved by Duncan Elsey, who was sixth in his category, and four minutes faster than last year at this event.

Rounding out the Salt Spring men’s participants were Peter Freeman with a 12th place and Eric Ellis, first in M70-74 with an outstanding 1:14:18 that bested his time on this course by a minute.

In women’s divisions, the Sneakers were led by Marion Young (second), followed by Anna Ford (sixth), Doreen Peron (10th), and Mary Freeman, who placed sixth in her age group.

The sixth race of the Island Series, and the longest, the Comox Valley RV Half Marathon, takes place on March 22.

It is a rural out and back course with views of Mount Washington, Forbidden Plateau, and Tsolum and Puntledge Rivers. If you’re looking for a great first half-marathon or a potential personal best, this course has a net downhill after the turnaround and is known for producing optimal performances.

For more details on the VIRA Series go to www.islandseries.org or look for #runseriesfunseries.

Full race results can be found at www.racedaytiming.ca.

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