Friday April 10, 2020 ~ VICTORIA
by Mary Brooke, B.Sc. ~ West Shore Voice News
This being a rare day off from press briefings for Good Friday on this Easter long weekend, the daily COVID-19 update about the status of the pandemic in this province was delivered by news release only.
For many weeks, the daily briefings — almost always held jointly by BC’s Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr Bonnie Henry along with Health Minister Adrian Dix — have covered that day’s rollout of COVID-19 confirmed cases, the number of COVID-19 infected patients in hospital (and how many of those are in the intensive care unit), and the number of deaths.
A subset of the numbers given by Dr Henry is usually given regarding the number of cases, resultant hospitalizations, and deaths in long term care homes. Persons affected in long term care are both the residents and the workers.
Other topics covered almost every day are the status of personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks, gowns and gloves, as well as ventilators, and the number of empty hospital beds that are being kept on standby should there be a broader outbreak of COVID-19 in the coming days and weeks.
Stay home on the Long Weekend:
On Thursday, British Columbians were strongly urged by Dr Henry and Health Minister Dix to stay home this long weekend, as part of the physical distancing and self-isolation measures that are helping BC to ‘bend the curve’ (i.e. restrict and limit community spread of the COVID-19 virus).
A new Travellers and Employers Order has been issued to support provincial measures surrounding self-isolation for returning travellers (being an update from the PHO’s March 17 order on this topic). Essential workers are allowed to travel, with certain conditions. | See all the PHO’s orders for COVID-19
If going outdoors, stay in your yard or neighbourhood. Travelling to locations in remote areas can put a strain on small communities if COVID-19 is introduced.
Stay at home this Easter long weekend. People who would normally take part in religious activities this weekend are asked to do so remotely.
Only go to the store for essential groceries, just once a week or once every two weeks.
COVID-19 Statistics for BC at April 10, 2020:
Today’s April 10 COVID-19 numbers include 1,410 confirmed cases in BC (40 of those being new since Thursday April 9). There are presently 128 cases of hospitalization (with 65 of those in intensive care). In total 879 people previously confirmed with COVID-19 have been declared recovered (after two negative testes).
By region, the 1,410 cases on April 10 are distributed across the five health authorities as follows: 629 in Vancouver Coastal Health, 539 in Fraser Health, 84 in Island Health, 132 in Interior Health, and 26 in Northern Health.
For the latest medical updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and testing visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.
New orders:
- PROVINCIAL: Dr. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer, has issued a new Travellers and Employers Order to support provincial measures surrounding self-isolation for returning travellers.
- FEDERAL: Statement by Minister Carla Qualtrough on Canada’s Disability-Inclusive approach to its COVID-19 pandemic response
- INDUSTRY: G20 Energy Ministerial Statement on
Affecting Seniors & Care Workers:
Most of the COVID-19 cases in BC (and most of the deaths associated with the infection) have been in long term care homes, with a total of 24 of those facilities (all of them in the Lower Mainland area — in Vancouver Coastal Health and Fraser Health authorities) seeing outbreaks.
Of the 13 affected care homes in Vancouver Coastal, four have been declared clear of COVID-19; all of the 11 care homes on the Fraser Health list still have active outbreaks.
Most of the residents of long term care are elderly (with deaths seen mostly in residents over age 70) and most of the workers are in the 20 to 40 year age range (and as it happens, most of those are women).
Those clusters started with one infected worker at Lynn Valley Care Home in North Vancouver, who also worked at other long term care facilities in the Lower Mainland area.
Many long term care workers work in multiple locations, which ended up allowing for transmission of the COVID-19 virus.
On Thursday BC Health Minister Adrian Dix announced a $10 million fund to support an order that now long term care workers can only work at one facility, in an effort to prevent any cross-contamination in future.
Testing:
As of April 9: 53,505 individuals have been tested for COVID-19. If symptoms appear, check your symptoms online. If needed, call your health-care provider or 811 for further guidance.
Upcoming media availabilities:
These live presentations are available on the BC Government’s Facebook page:
- Saturday, April 11 at 12 noon in Victoria (Dr Bonnie Henry)
- Monday, April 13 at 1:30 p.m. in Victoria (Dr Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix)