Saturday March 14, 2020 ~ BC
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
There are 73 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in BC it was announced today Saturday March 14 by BC Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry in a joint update session today at noon in Vancouver with BC Health Minister Adrian Dix. That’s up from 64 yesterday and 53 the day before that.
CONFIRMED CASES
“We are announcing nine new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 73 cases in British Columbia,” said Dr Henry. Of the nine new cases, seven are in Vancouver Coastal health, one in Fraser Health, one (presumptive) in Interior Health.
Two cases reported earlier this week as being in Vancouver Coastal actually lives in Northern Health, where they have gone home to self-isolate.
Among the new 11 cases, there is a cluster of three cases at Lions Gate Hospital, one additional case at Lynn Valley Care Centre, five more related to travel (Iran, Egypt tour of the Nile, Philippines, and Mexico), and two more ‘under investigation’. Dr Henry noted that Philippines and Mexico are two new areas of transmission showing up in BC.
Of the already announced cases in BC, two remain hospitalized.
Now all of BC’s five health authorities are dealing with COVID-19 directly.
TEST KIT STRATEGY HAS CHANGED
Over 4,000 COVID-19 tests have been done in BC, says Dix, which is higher than in many other jurisdictions. The goal had been to track the source and trail of incoming COVID-19 infection.
Now the strategy is shifting to using the test kit resources for health care workers and patients already in hospital or with confirmed COVID-19 cases or close contacts of those cases. That will help manage the available supply of COVID-19 tests to where they are essentially needed most, the Provincial Health Officer explained.
Testing centres will be available in all five health authority regions of BC soon, said Health Minister Adrian Dix. The locations will be announced by each health authority when they are ready. Only people who have been referred by a health care worker (doctor, clinic or 811) can be tested; there will be no walk-in availability for testing, said Dix.
We have a low threshold that anybody can get the test who needs it, Dr Henry explained. “But we don’t need to test everybody who’s been outside the country,” she said.
CHILDREN & COVID-19
The COVID-19 committee will be discussing another important matter this afternoon, and that’s “what we need to do with schools and how best do that”, said Dr Henry.
That comment was in response to this question from West Shore Voice News: “Based on the data out of China, children seem to handle the virus well, and are possibly asymptomatic in many cases. For families staying home together (in self-isolation), what are the scenarios of cross-infection between children who may be asymptomatic and others in the household?”
The Public Health Officer said that for children it’s a mild illness. That provides a sense of relief for everyone. In children “it’s a mild illness, asymptomatic”, and public health authorities are not yet sure if asymptomatic children or others are passing it on to anybody else. “There’s no clear evidence of that.”
“In some family clusters where children have tested positive, more likely they got it from a parent or other household member,” said Dr Henry. “None I have seen yet, where an asymptomatic child is first person identified,” she said. Dr Henry says they want to further understand the role of children in transmitting this illness and how that fits into the school scenario. “Children are very efficient vectors of influenza. Children don’t get very sick (with COVID-19). That “can get very efficient”.
But Dr Henry also said that schools are still open in Taiwan, with no massive outbreaks related to children. “The evidence is changing all the time. We’re continuing to assess that. We’re discussing with our group to try and decide about what we need to do with schools and how best do that. We’re having a meeting this afternoon on that very issue,” she said.
Influenza B (circulating this winter in flu season) tends to affect children the most in flu season.
As of March 14 World Health Organization (WHO) Report #54 statistics show 142,539 confirmed COVID-19 cases globally (up from 132,758 yesterday), with 61,518 of those cases being outside China which was the epicentre of the disease (up from 51,767 yesterday). In total there have been 5,393 deaths to date (up from 4,955 deaths yesterday) due to COVID-19; of those deaths, 2,199 are outside China (up from 1,775 on March 13). Now 135 countries have reported confirmed cases (up from 122 yesterday).
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
The Health Minister gave assurances that Canada’s food and household supply chain is strong and resilient, and that there will be no food shortages.
Dix urged people not to overbuy or hoard so that there is enough selection for everyone when they go shopping.
LARGE GROUPS
On March 12 the declaration by the Provincial Health Officer was that large gatherings of more than 250 people cannot be held in BC under the current pandemic conditions.
By March 13 many more events were finally cancelled (who had waited for a more definitive statement of direction from the provincial government), notably large sporting events as well as festivals and conferences.
In Greater Victoria that includes the Canada Soccer match that was set for March 27 & 31 at Westhills Stadium, the Capital City Comic Con that was set for March 20 to 22 at the Victoria Conference Centre, and the Vancouver Island Construction Conference that was set for April 16 at the Victoria Conference Centre. The University of Victoria will not hold any face to face classes as of Monday March 16. Camosun College is likely to follow suit.
===== NEXT:
The next scheduled BC Health and Public Health Officer update to media will be on Monday March 16 out of Victoria.
=== LINKS
Joint Statement by Health Minister Adrian Dix and Pubic Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry on March 14, 2020: total 73 cases in BC, new COVID-19 testing strategy
Pandemic Plan is in place in BC, says Premier (article about 2-hour BC Health media announcement on March 6, 2020)
COVID-19 pandemic preparedness and planning materials: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics/pandemic-influenza.
Recommendations on protecting yourself and your community, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/coronavirus-(novel)
For more information and latest updates on COVID-19, follow the BC Centre for Disease Control on Twitter @CDCofBC or visit http://www.bccdc.ca/