Joint statement on 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.
– eight new cases of COVID-19, total of 2,232 cases in British Columbia.
– Every health region in British Columbia has patients with COVID-19:
- 849 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region,
- 1,031 are in the Fraser Health region,
- 124 are in the Island Health region,
- 177 are in the Interior Health region and
- 51 are in the Northern Health region.
– 4 new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 121 deaths in British Columbia.
– To date, 1,472 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered, 78 individuals are hospitalized, and 21 of those are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
– It will take time for a vaccine to be developed and broadly available for everyone. Our current understanding is that it could be up to 18 months. Until that time, we must continue to hold the line on COVID-19, even as we gradually ease some restrictions. This is the balance that we must find together.
– We have put the brakes on COVID-19, but new cases and outbreaks persist. As the modelling has shown, moving too quickly can only cause harm to us all.
– Our ‘new normal’ practices apply to every person and every situation with no exception. They are our playbook for the weeks and months ahead. These include:
- staying informed, being prepared and following public health advice;
- practising good hygiene – hand hygiene, avoid touching face and respiratory etiquette;
- no exceptions to staying at home and away from others if feeling ill – whether for school, work or socializing;
- maintaining physical distancing outside your household, for example, no hand shaking or hugging, keeping your number of contacts low and keeping a safe distance;
- making necessary contact safer with appropriate controls, e.g., using plexiglass barriers or redesigning spaces;
- increasing cleaning of frequently touched surfaces at home and work;
- considering the use of non-medical masks in situations where physical distancing cannot be maintained, such as on transit or while shopping; and
- continuing to reduce non-essential personal travel.
– Keep this top of mind in everything you do. They are the guideposts for our path forward.
– Our shared health and well-being relies on all of us to be threads in a rope; side-by-side and far stronger all together, when we are physically apart.