There are now 792 cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in B.C., after health officials announced 67 new cases Tuesday.
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry reports that there are 391 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), 262 in Fraser Health, 57 on Vancouver Island, 70 in Interior Health and 12 in Northern Health.
There are currently 73 people in hospital, and there have been two more deaths located in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.
“Two additional long-term care homes in the Fraser Health region have staff with confirmed cases of COVID-19, The Harrison at Elim Village and Chartwell Independent Living at Langley Gardens. In total, 11 long-term care homes in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health regions have confirmed cases of COVID-19. Public health officials are providing support to implement outbreak protocols," Henry reported.
275 people have fully recovered from COVID-19 in B.C. Henry notes that this means that most people, particularly who are young and have mild illness, are recovering from this virus at home.
“We are tracking the epidemic curve closely here in B.C. We are also monitoring outbreaks in other nations to guide our health system preparations and public health response," said Henry.
“In the past few days, our upward path has been less severe than other places, but we continue to see steady increases in community transmission cases and continue to be concerned about outbreaks, which could quickly grow and challenge our pandemic response.The evidence is clear: with every person in British Columbia 100% committed to physical distancing, we can flatten the curve. Over the next two weeks we must be united in this one goal."
Health officials strongly discourage any in-person gathering of any size at this time and encourage people to use online options to stay connected to friends, family, customers and clients.
“We know that our community and farmers markets are an important source of fresh food. We are heartened that, with the support of funding from the provincial government, many markets are shifting to an online model. We remind market organizers that a public gathering order is in place and physical distancing measures must be followed," added Henry.
“Further, to reduce the potential for transmission and ensure local, B.C.-grown food can continue to reach customers, a public health officer order has been issued, effective immediately."
“All occasional/recurring/weekly events where food and other merchandise is sold (e.g., markets, street markets, night markets, Saturday markets or community markets) must only allow vendors that sell food to be at these events. Vendors of non-food items and all other merchandise are prohibited to sell at these events."
“Every day that we stay home and stay apart will bolster our COVID-19 response. This is how we will protect our health-care workers, whose job it is to care for us, our loved ones and ourselves.”
During Monday's briefing, Henry underscored that the province is moving the focus on testing to identifying cases where the source is unknown, such as in community spread. For anyone who comes into the country and falls ill, Henry recommends that they stay home rather than risk infecting someone else. Of course, if their symptoms are severe they should still seek medical attention.
"We know the source of infection for anyone coming from outside of Canada," notes Henry. "We assume they have the virus and ask them to self-isolate for 14 days."
"We don't need them to come in for testing."
Henry also reinforced the importance of social distancing while still remaining relationships via technology.
Last week, Henry noted that people should consult the new online assesment tool if they aren't sure if they require further testing or assessment for COVID-19. She also underscored the importance of physical distancing, hand washing, covering your mouth if you cough, not touching your face and staying home if you are sick.
