Joint statement on Province of B.C.’s COVID-19 response, latest updates
Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia. Read the full statement here:
- March 28: 16 new cases, for a total of 900 cases in British Columbia
- March 29: 70 new cases, for a total of 970 cases in British Columbia
- 86 new cases since Saturday
- Every health region in British Columbia has patients with COVID-19:
- 472 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region,
- 323 are in the Fraser Health region,
- 67 are in the Island Health region,
- 94 are in the Interior Health region and
- 14 are in the Northern Health region.
- two additional COVID-19 related deaths in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, resulting in a total of 19 COVID-19 related deaths in British Columbia
- of the total COVID-19 cases 469 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered and no longer have isolation requirements, 106 individuals are currently hospitalized, 60 of those in hospital are in intensive care and the remaining people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation
- critical juncture in our provincial COVID-19 response: either we will begin to see evidence of a flattened curve or our rates of infection will rise even more
- next two crucial weeks we must be 100% committed to flattening the curve and lessening the devastating impacts of this virus.
- shipment of one million surgical masks has arrived as we continue to restock our provincial personal-protection equipment supplies
- 19 major hospitals across the province are designated as primary COVID-19 facilities to deliver care to the most critically ill patients
- To maximize capacity at these primary sites, we are also readying a number of off-site treatment centres
- Are suspending pay parking for the patients, staff and visitors at all health authority owned and operated sites, effective April 1 until further notice to avoid touching screens and buttons at payment kiosks
- our K-12 educators and students will begin a new form of learning as in-class education remains suspended. The Keep Learning BC website is a new resource to give families additional support and provide guidance on how to incorporate learning into their everyday activities