Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced another 63 confirmed COVID19 cases in BC since Saturday, including one community death on the Lower Mainland.
The total number of cases in the province is 1,266, there are 140 people hospitalized, 72 are in intensive care and 783 people have fully recovered from COVID19, that’s a recovery rate of 61.8 percent.
There are 79 cases on Vancouver Island and Henry praised British Columbians for self-isolation and adhering to physical distancing measures, adding that those practices are bending the curve, but we can’t stop now.
“We must be steadfast in our commitment to holding the line right now in BC. We continue to see clusters and outbreaks in our communities and facilities and these hotspots are very concerning,” said Henry.
‘They can quickly escalate and challenge our response and our ability to keep things under control,” said Henry.
Health Minister Adrian Dix said there are 4,422 empty beds in the province and 55 ventilators just arrived from the national emergency supply earlier today.
There are 620 adult capable critical care ventilators that have been distributed throughout the large COVID sites and 33 newly purchased critical ventilators are ready to go.
With holidays in a number of religious faiths coming up, Dix urged people to avoid large gatherings and continue with the practice of physical distancing.
“Ramadan, to Passover, to Easter, this is not the time to come together in groups to celebrate, but to recognize these important moments of faith in new ways, virtually, in order to both satisfy the demands of religious faith, but also to ensure that everyone is kept safe in these times,” said Dix.
There are 210 cases associated with long-term care or assisted living facilities, all of which are either in Vancouver Coastal Health or Fraser Health.
While three outbreaks at long-term care homes have been declared over, there is now an outbreak at a federal prison.
Two inmates tested positive for COVID19 at a federal prison in Mission.
On April 2, Dr. Henry announced that an inmate at the Okanagan Correctional Centre in Oliver, BC tested positive for Coronavirus.
COVID19 Cases by Health Region:
Vancouver Coastal Health – 586
Fraser Health – 450
Interior Health – 128
Island Health – 79
Northern Health – 23
