Nine O'clock Gun to fire at 7 p.m. in honour of health-care workers

Vancouver — The daily cheers for health-care workers on the front lines of the battle against COVID-19 will be getting even louder starting Monday night.

The Vancouver Park Board says Stanley Park's iconic Nine O'clock Gun - normally fired daily at 9 p.m. - will be fired at 7 p.m. instead through the end of April.

The change to the gun's schedule is intended to show the park board's support for health-care workers, the board said in a tweet Sunday.

People across the Lower Mainland and around the world have been cheering nightly at 7 p.m. from their windows and balconies to thank health-care workers for their efforts during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Police departments and other first responders have joined in as well, turning on their lights and blaring horns and sirens in short bursts to show their appreciation for the work being done in the health-care system.

Since the nightly cheers began, Park Board General Manager Malcolm Bromley has been documenting them - and participating - on Twitter from his home in Vancouver's West End.

On Sunday, he quoted his employer's tweet, saying the gun would give him "competition" in his nightly noise-making.