5 new COVID-19 deaths reported provincially, 1 new case in Northern Health

In today’s official COVID-19 update, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has provided official statistics on the growth of the virus.

There are 43 new cases throughout the province, bringing the total number of cases to 1,013.

The breakdown is as follows:

476 in Vancouver Coastal Health (an increase of 4)
348 in Fraser Health (an increase of 25)
107 in Interior Health (an increase of 13)
67 in Island Health (no change)
15 in Northern Health (an increase of 1)

Dr. Henry reported 38 more recoveries, bringing the total to 507.

Five additional deaths have occurred, for a cumulative total of 24 province-wide.

There are currently 482 active cases within the Province.

507 people have now recovered, however Henry reports an additional 5 deaths (4 VCH and 1 FH)

— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 31, 2020

Minister of Health Adrian Dix then discussed the care numbers, revealing that there are currently 128 people hospitalized throughout the province.

55 in Vancouver Coastal Health
53 in Fraser Health
7 in Interior Health
8 in Island Health
5 in Northern Health

5 people in Northern Health are in hospital. #covid19

— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 31, 2020

In a joint statement Henry and Dix said: “there are now COVID-19 cases in 19 facilities in B.C., all in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions.”

Dr. Henry clarified that the Health Authority is proceeding delicately to avoid identifying individuals out of concern over stigmatization.

Additionally, she stressed that communities are not individually identified to help minimize the danger of unknown cases.

She explained that identifying specific communities may lead to a false sense of security in areas where cases exist but have not been diagnosed.

However, a specific instance centred around temporary foreign workers at an agricultural nursery was discussed.

The province is now investigating an outbreak of COVID19 at a agricultural nursery in Kelowna involving temporary foreign workers. #bcpoli #COVID19BC

— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 31, 2020

Dr. Henry explained: “realistically, we are going to be in some form of having to monitor and prevent transmission of this virus until we have a vaccine.”

On physical distancing: “We are going to be under some form of this, until we have a vaccine or enough people are immune to it.” – She says we are in the first wave of the virus, which will likely last a few more weeks. #covid19

— My Prince George Now (@mypgnow) March 31, 2020