Along with providing a COVID19 update, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix shared some new modeling data this afternoon.
The number of COVID19 cases in the province is now at 2,224, including 53 new cases, and Dr. Henry said that men are much more susceptible to getting sick with the virus.
Men account for two-thirds of all hospitalizations and trips to the ICU and three-quarters of all deaths in the province.
Dr. Henry said the older populations are most at-risk for contracting the virus.
“Those people who have severe enough illness to need to be in hospital tend to be older, mostly people in their 70’s, 80’s, and even 90’s,” said Dr. Henry.
She added, “As we get older, we start to see that men more than women have more severe illness that requires them to be hospitalized.”
Those with at least one chronic condition account for 83 percent of the 117 deaths in our province.
While BC has the fourth-highest number of cases in the country, now at 2,224, most residents have been doing their part to flatten the curve by practicing physical distancing.
Dr. Henry said British Columbians are engaging in 30 percent of the usual contact with others and added that increasing contact with others must come with increased caution.
“Our challenge and our work together is to find that sweet spot, somewhere around increasing our contacts by at least half, or at least twice as many as we have now, without allowing those opportunities for the exponential growth of the virus in our communities,” said Dr. Henry.
Key stats:
Highest Frequency of Cases:
Women between 30 and 60-years-old
Healthcare workers testing positive for COVID19
Confirmed COVID19 cases – 428 (as of April 28)
Hospitalized – 8 percent
ICU – 3 percent
Deaths – 1 person
Most confirmed COVID19 cases among healthcare workers are young woman
Intensive Care:
Older age groups (the majority are in their 60’s and 70’s, the majority are men)
Hospital Admissions:
Fifty-six percent of all hospital admissions were over the age of 50
Hospital/ICU Visits:
Two-thirds of all confirmed cases were in men
Three-quarters of all confirmed deaths were in men
Critical Care:
Cases Admitted to Critical Care – 199
Number of cases that died in hospital – 28
Number of cases discharged from hospital – 110
Chronic Conditions:
Thirty-seven percent of all cases had at least one chronic condition
Two-thirds of all hospitalizations had at least one chronic condition
Three-quarters of all ICU admissions had chronic conditions (83 percent of deaths)
All-Cause Mortality:
Most days 115 people die from a variety of reasons in BC
Since March, 170 excess deaths (111 attributed to COVID19)
If Physical Distancing Protocols are Loosened:
Currently, physical distancing is at 30 percent of usual contact
What would happen if contact increased?
40 percent – minimal change
60 percent – some hospitalizations, but they would be manageable
80 percent – back to December (virus will increase exponentially)
