The BC Refugee Hub will be curating information about COVID-19 relating to refugees and refugee claimants in British Columbia. This webpage will be updated regularly as more information becomes available.

Originally Posted – March 20, 2020

Update #6 – April 27, 2020

Resources:

Burnaby Division of Family Practice & MOSAIC – Health Navigator Tool: The Burnaby Division of Family Practice has partnered with MOSAIC, on a program that links recent immigrants and refugees who don’t speak English or don’t have access to computers or the internet to medically trained staff and volunteers who can help them navigate the city’s online COVID-19 screening portal.

Surrey-North Delta Division of Family Practice COVID-19 Health Promotion Phone Lines: The phone lines will answer general questions in multiple languages. Clients can call with any general, non-medical questions about COVID-19, including: what measures to take and how the community can provide support.

Click here to download poster.

The Province of British Columbia has dedicated phone service that provides non-medical information about COVID-19 in 110 languages. Service representatives can be reached seven days a week, from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., by calling 1-888-COVID19 / 1-888-268-4319.

AMSSA – Webpage launched with COVID-19 Updates and Resources. AMSSA is the Umbrella Organization for all settlement and integration service provider organizations in BC.

• Government Response to COVID-19: A Breakdown of Federal and Provincial Subsidies
• Novel Coronavirus Factsheet

Government of Canada – Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan

• The Government of Canada is taking immediate, significant and decisive action to help Canadians facing hardship as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. This webpage outlines this plan for supporting individuals and businesses.

Province of BC – Ministry of Education has developed frequently asked questions (FAQ) and will continue to update them on Continuity of Learning in the K-12 Education System (PDF).

Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) – Q&A on COVID-19 related issues

ISSofBC – COVID-19 Updates and Resources, includes:

• What to do if you were assessed for COVID-19 or need to self-isolate – with handouts in 22-24 languages produced by the Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians (CAEP)
• What to do if you might have COVID-19 – with information in a variety of languages
• How to self-isolate – with information in a variety of languages

Greater Vancouver Food Bank – COVID-19 updates to schedules and distribution sites during.

• Due to the COVID-19 health crisis, we have seen the closure of all of our food distribution locations. We have been able to secure some new locations, and have created a new schedule that is operationally sustainable at this time. We will be providing a total of four food distribution locations, one in each city we support (Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and the North Shore).
• COVID-19 Adapted Distribution Locations and Schedule Effective Tuesday, April 1, 2020

Province of BC – COVID-19 Symptom Self-Assessment Tool: This self-assessment tool, developed with the BC Ministry of Health, will help determine whether you may need further assessment or testing for COVID-19. You can complete this assessment for yourself, or on behalf of someone else, if they are unable to.

Province of BC – COVID-19 Provincial Support and Information: Informational webpage with resources on:

• What you must do
• Child care
• Education
• Employment
• Businesses
• Housing and Tenancy
• Transportation
• Travel and Tourism
• Mental Health
• Being Prepared
• MSP

BC Centre for Disease Control: Information and resources on COVID-19, how to protect yourself, your family and your community and what to do if you suspect you have the virus.

UNHCR Canada – Key information for asylum seekers

Announcements:

Province of British Columbia:

Province of BC (March 23, 2020) – COVID-19 Action Plan: B.C.’s first steps to support people, businesses

Municipal Affairs and Housing – Supporting renters, landlords during COVID-19 (Punjabi, French translations available)

The Province is implementing a number of additional measures to keep people housed and protect their health. The full list of immediate measures includes:

• The new temporary rent supplement will provide up to $500 per month, paid directly to landlords.
• Halting evictions by ensuring a landlord may not issue a new notice to end tenancy for any reason. However, in exceptional cases where it may be needed to protect health and safety or to prevent undue damage to the property, landlords will be able to apply to the Residential Tenancy Branch for a hearing.
• Halting the enforcement of existing eviction notices issued by the Residential Tenancy Branch, except in extreme cases where there are safety concerns. The smaller number of court ordered evictions are up to the courts, which operate independently of government.
• Freezing new annual rent increases during the state of emergency.
• Preventing landlords from accessing rental units without the consent of the tenant (for example, for showings or routine maintenance), except in exceptional cases where it is  needed to protect health and safety or to prevent undue damage to the unit.
• Restricting methods that renters and landlords can use to serve notices to reduce the potential transmission of COVID-19 (no personal service and allowing email).
• Allowing landlords to restrict the use of common areas by tenants or guests to protect against the transmission of COVID-19.

Ministry of Education – Safe and Healthy Schools

This webpage includes announcements from the Ministry of Education for parents and guardian and helps answer questions about continuity of learning while K-12 schools are suspended to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It will be updated regularly, so you have a trusted source of information. 

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada:  

IRCC – How COVID-19 is affecting business at IRCC.

This webpage has an FAQ on how COVID-19 is impacting travel for IRCC clients. Items related to refugees and refugees claimants include the following:

• What is the impact on refugees and asylum claimants?
  • On March 17, 2020, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced that they, along with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), are temporarily suspending resettlement travel for refugees. Canada relies on referrals from the UNHCR, other designated referral organizations and private sponsorship groups to identify refugees in need of resettlement. The IOM and the UNHCR will make alternative arrangements for those refugees currently in transit and who are no longer able to continue their journey to Canada at this time. We continue to accept asylum claimants in Canada, consistent with our international human rights obligations. On March 20, 2020, Canada and the US also announced collaborative and reciprocal measures where we will now be returning irregular migrants who attempt to cross anywhere at the Canada–US border, including those who attempt to make an asylum claim at a land POE.
• Are you suspending immigration loan payments for refugees?
  • IRCC has decided to suspend its immigrant loan collection activities for a period of 6 months, until September 2020. Clients who have questions about their loan, or who wish to make alternative arrangements for payments during this period, can contact IRCC at 1-800-667-7301.