Thursday, April 23, 2020

Return to more stable new case returns marks Thursday COVID-19 report, with caution not to tip the balance of results against us



After a surge of cases yesterday, many attributed to an outbreak at a food processing facility in Vancouver, today's listing of 29 new cases returned the daily levels back to more common results from the last few weeks, with totals confirmed returns now making for1,824 cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia to date

From those results as delivered by Public Health Officer Doctor Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix,  755 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 760 are in the Fraser Health region, 111 are in the Island Health region, 156 are in the Interior Health region and 42 are in the Northern Health region, that making for an increase of two from Wednesday. 

The news of a return to lower case count levels was tempered by the sad news of more passings in the province from the virus.

 “We are saddened to report four new COVID-19 related deaths in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions, for a total of 94 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones"

Dr. Henry also made note of a new outbreaks at a Seniors residence and acute care facilities.

"There have been one new outbreak at Orchard Manor at Hawthorn Park in the Interior Health region. There are also two new acute-care outbreaks: one at Ridge Meadows Hospital in the Fraser Health region and one at Lions Gate Hospital in the Vancouver Coastal Health region. In total, 20 facilities and three acute-care units have active outbreaks, with outbreaks declared over at 10 care facilities."

Officials have also advised of another food processing plant in the Vancouver area suffering an outbreak this week.

“A second poultry facility, Superior Poultry in Coquitlam, has two confirmed cases of COVID-19. Fraser Health public health teams are working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, who is responsible for this facility to manage the outbreak and support with active contact tracing."

That facility now joins one in Vancouver and incidents at correctional facilities as part of the listings of a large scale outbreak in the province.

There was some positive news to share as well on the day, with 1,092 British Columbians now listed as having recovered and no longer requiring isolation.

Among the wider theme for discussion today was the observation that COVID-19 is in our communities and will remain a factor for many months to come, with the goal for the moment to rech a manageable number of new cases to allow for an easing of current restrictions.

“The challenge for all of us right now is to recognize that COVID-19 will be in our communities for many months to come. 

What this means, is that in order for us to get to a point where we can ease restrictions in B.C., we have to reach a manageable number of new cases: one that does not overwhelm our health-care system, so we can continue to provide the best care possible for all those who are ill. 

It is a careful balance, and as we have seen with the recent increase in community outbreaks, it is a balance that is difficult to find. 

A misstep in the wrong direction puts us all at risk. A playdate for your children, a gathering with friends, non-essential travel – any of these actions exponentially increase potential exposures to COVID-19 for ourselves and those we care for most.

This is not forever. We will get through this hurricane in the safest, best way possible. But now is most certainly not the time to tip the scales against us. Rather, it is a time for patience and resilience, to demonstrate to each other that in the face of our pandemic, we are standing strong.”


You can review the Thursday statement 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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