Tuesday March 17, 2020 ~ VICTORIA, BC
by Mary Brooke ~ West Shore Voice News
There are now 186 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in BC it was announced today Tuesday March 17 by BC Provincial Health Officer Dr Bonnie Henry in a joint update session today at 3 pm in Victoria with BC Health Minister Adrian Dix. That’s up from 103 yesterday, 73 on Saturday, 64 on Friday, and 53 on Thursday.
Some of the new cases are again here on Vancouver Island.
There have now been seven deaths in BC. Of three new deaths reported today, two were associated with the ongoing outbreak at Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver, and one was a man in his 80s in the Fraser Health region who passed away in hospital yesterday.
Five people in BC have fully recovered from COVID-19, reported Dr Henry, which means two negative test results have been produced. More people have recovered but the two negative tests results are awaited to confirm.
Confirmed cases by region as of today March 17: Vancouver Coastal Health: 116 | Fraser Health: 47 | Island Health: 12 | Interior Health: 7 | Northern Health: 4
Dr Henry explained that the apparent spike in number of cases is more reflective of the administrative process of test results being entered into the statistical system. Which actually means that community spread has been upon us longer than we may have previously believed, including on Vancouver Island.
MORE POWERS
“I am declaring a public health emergency in BC,” said Dr Henry. “It’s been a tool in our toolkit for some time. I feel that today this is the tool we need now,” she said. “There have been a number of unprecedented measures in the last few days,” said Dr Henry, and that that the health care system “needs to be faster, more streamlined and nimble in the things we need to do right now”. That was a somber, straightforward statement with a ton of power.
These are now extraordinary times. Minister Dix said that under the Public Health Act, that in the state of a Public Health Emergency the Minister of Health can amend regulations without consent of Cabinet, and that the Public Health Officer can make changes to legislation without passage in the Legislature.
A NEW FOCUS
Until now, the focus with the containment goal has been on catching the infection in travellers who are arriving back in Canada. Now the focus for BC’s Provincial Health Officer is on clusters in the community, health care workers, long term care residents and people who are hospitalized.
“We don’t have a shortage of respirators. We now have a sufficient supply,” said Dr Henry. There is a supply from a previous order, supplemented by the recent national order as supported by the federal government.
SCHOOLS ARE NOT RE-OPENING AFTER SPRING BREAK
Today based on guidance and expectations of the Provincial Health Officer, Education Minister Rob Fleming announced that all schools in BC will not re-open after spring breakhttps://islandsocialtrends.ca/bc-schools-to-remain-closed-after-spring-break-due-to-covid-19/.
Students would have gone back to class on Monday March 30. But instead, teachers will now need to repackage their curriculum delivery so that students can learn remotely at home.
All of the BC curriculum for students in Kindergarten to Grade 12 is already online, said Minister Fleming. He said that all students who are eligible to move on to the next grade will move on, and that all Grade 12 students who are eligible to graduate will do so (each will need their Grade 10 numeracy, which most have). All graduation events and ceremonies are cancelled.
SELF-ASSESSMENT on BC CDC WEBSITE
“We would like to remind people that tests are available for all those who need them, but not everyone requires a test,” says BC Health.
“To further support people who are wondering if they should be tested, a new self-assessment tool is now available. Before calling 811, we recommend completing the self-assessment at: http://covid-19.bccdc.ca/
The self-assessment tool was posted last night and by this afternoon had already seen 500,000 visits before even being promoted in public. Minister Dix was pleased at the level of public engagement such a response indicates.
VISITORS SHOULD STAY AWAY FROM BC
Health Minister Adrian Dix was quite clear on non-essential travel between the US and Canada at the BC border: “Canadians shouldn’t go to the US as visitors, and Americans shouldn’t come here as visitors.”
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also announced that all BC Parks are closed, producing less incentive for community spread in areas that cannot be supervised. Parks workers are very likely needed elsewhere in the system right now.
COVID-19 WORLD STATS
As of Tuesday March 17, World Health Organization (WHO) Report #57 statistics show 179,112 confirmed COVID-19 cases globally (up from 167,511 on March 16, which was up from 153,517 on March 15, 142,539 on March 14 and 132,758 on March 13), with 4,910 cases in the Americas (including Canada, USA, Mexico and South American countries) with 68 deaths.
As of today, WHO is now listing the emerging case tally by region of the world and not singling out China, which is seeing minimal incidence since they dealt with the initial outbreak since January with massive containment measures.
See the full BC Government release for today March 17, 2020
===== NEXT BC UPDATE:
The next scheduled BC Health and Public Health Officer joint update to media will be at 3 pm on Wednesday March 18 out of Vancouver.
=== LINKS
To view the provincial health officer’s order on people returning from travel, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics
To view the provincial health officer’s order on mass gatherings, visit: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/office-of-the-provincial-health-officer/current-health-topics
For more information on the updated testing strategy and self-isolation, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/testing-isolation
For recommendations on protecting yourself and your community, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/coronavirus-(novel)
For the COVID-19 pandemic preparedness and planning materials, visit: 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.
For more information and latest updates on COVID-19, follow the BC Centre for Disease Control on Twitter @CDCofBC or visit its website: http://www.bccdc.ca/
To make an appointment to donate, download the GiveBlood app, call 1 888 2-DONATE (1 888 236-6283) or book online: https://blood.ca
For the latest audio clips of COVID-19 media availabilities, visit: https://soundcloud.com/bcgov