Friday, March 20, 2020

77 new cases, brings BC totals to 348 as Public Health Officer urges residents to be aware of the risks in every region



Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix used their Friday update for the province to reinforce the message of the risk at this point of time when it comes to the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

"We need everybody to be aware of the risk in every community and every health region across B.C. And, equally important, because of the incubation period and rapid transmission, the self-isolation and social distancing that we do today will benefit all of us two weeks and two months from now."

When it came to the numerical review of that situation, the increase to the case file load jumped by 77 new cases, making for a total of 348 province wide, one more previous case sadly passed away bringing the provincial total to nine since the virus arrived in BC.

“Of the new cases, one patient is a health-care worker at the Dufferin Care Centre, a long-term care home in Coquitlam. Fraser Health authority public health and infection control teams are on site.

Every health region in British Columbia has patients with COVID-19: 200 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 95 are in the Fraser Health region, 30 are in the Vancouver Island Health region, 19 are in the Interior Health region and four are in the Northern Heath region.

Additionally, of the total COVID-19 cases, six people have completely recovered, 22 are receiving acute care, 10 are in intensive care and the remaining patients are at home in isolation."

Dr. Henry and Mr. Dix also noted the pressures being faced by the province's health system at this time.

"As the number of cases increases and the pressure on our health-care system intensifies, we would like to acknowledge and thank our health-care workers as they support all those in B.C. who require testing and care for COVID-19. 

In step with World Health Organization recommendations, the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Advisory Committee on Infection Prevention and Control provides clear guidance for all health-care workers to follow. They can be confident that by following these guidelines on appropriate use, we will have sufficient supply of personal protective equipment."

New measures were also introduced towards the goal of social distancing, with the restaurant sector now offered three models for operation, Take Out, Delivery or closure.

“Given the challenges social distancing presents for restaurants, effective immediately, all dine-in food services are prohibited. Restaurants must move to delivery or take-out options only, or close.

We also want to be clear that while spending time outdoors is important, people still need to stay away from groups in any environment – to prevent bringing the virus into their homes.
You can can review the notes from today here."

To review more from today's statement see the information release here.


The BC Centre for Disease control has some valuable Coronavirus notes related to COVID-19 you can explore that information here.



You can learn more about the outbreak from both the Province and the Federal government from the links below:

Federal Government site

British Columbia Government site

The World Health Organization website also offers up the latest advisories on the global situation.

More from  Northern Health can be reviewed here 

You can review our archive of past statements and local information here.

Local governments and organizations have also provided for increased awareness of COVID-19 issues, the string of statements that came quickly at the end of the week can be reviewed here.

For notes from across Canada and British Columbia we have been archiving the latest items through our political portal Darcy McGee

Ottawa Observations

Victoria Viewpoints



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