There are now 2,288 cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in B.C., after health officials announced 33 new cases Thursday.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reports that there are 865 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), 1,064 in Fraser Health, 126 on Vancouver Island, 179 in Interior Health and 54 in Northern Health.
There are no new outbreaks in a long-term care facilities. Currently, there are 21 active outbreaks in long-term facilities.There are 280 residents and 180 staff affected. 18 outbreaks have been declared over, including the Lynn Valley Care Centre, which was one of the first major outbreaks.
The outbreak at the Mission federal correctional institute in the Fraser Valley has remained steady at 134 cases. The number of positive COVID-19 is 121 inmates and 13 staff. An investigation is going and the health authority expects more people may develop symptoms in the coming days and weeks.
There continues to be seven positive cases at the Fraser Valley Poultry plant, and 56 people have tested positive in the ongoing outbreak at Superior Poultry, a chicken processing plant in Coquitlam. There are 35 positive cases related to the initial outbreak announced a couple of weeks ago at United Poultry Company Ltd., a Vancouver processing plant. Investigations are ongoing at all plants.
There are 15 positive cases of COVID-19 connected to the Kearl Lake plant in Alberta and additional family members. Anyone who is returning from the plant is asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
There have been two new deaths, for a total of 126 fatalities in the province.
There are currently 76 people in acute care in hospital and 20 are in critical care.
1,512 people have fully recovered and are no longer in isolation.
Henry asks people to stay at home as much as possible, and, if they do venture out to, "try and be understanding of each other through these times."
"We all have our stories and we all have our reasons for doing what we are doing," she adds.
Even when we move into Phase Two in the coming days, Henry cautions that not everyone will be ready to restart their social connections or businesses at the same time. She notes that everyone has their own experience, and therefore they will have their own 'personal approach.' For example, people who care for seniors or immunocompromised loved ones may need to keep their "circle quite small in the coming days."
“As Premier John Horgan has said, finding the right balance in this next phase of COVID-19 requires all us to work together, to follow our playbook principles and remember the basics of keeping a safe physical distance from others, with fewer faces and open spaces.
“We must also continue to show kindness and compassion to those around us, as we remain 100% committed. It is in all of our hands. Let’s remember to wash them.”
Yesterday, Premier Horgan unvieled B.C.'s new guidelines to re-open the provincial economy. B.C.’s economy will restart in four phases, with the first order of business being the resumption of elective surgeries, personal care services, like dentistry, hair salons, retail and the reopening of provincial parks for day use starting in mid-May.
But concerts, conventions and other large gatherings -- phase four – could continue to be banned for one to two years, as their resumption are contingent on a vaccine being developed, the development of herd immunity or a new drug to treat the COVID-19 virus.
