(Image Credit: Province of British Columbia)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

COVID-19 BC UPDATE

Health officials confirm 74 new COVID-19 cases in B.C, outline what latest data means for flattening the curve

Mar 21, 2020 | 12:45 PM

VANCOUVER — Provincial health officials have now confirmed 74 new cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia, with the provincial total now at 424.

In today’s update (Mar. 21), Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry, and BC Health Minister Adrian Dix stated that there have been 74 new cases confirmed in B.C since Friday, with 1 more death.

There are now 230 cases identified within Vancouver Coastal Health region, 126 within Fraser Health, 37 on the Island, 27 in the Interior Health region, and four cases identified in Northern Health.

Dr. Henry also notes there are 5 new cases that were admitted to hospital for a total of 27 – 12 of whom are in intensive care, while six cases have recovered.

1 additional death has also been reported in relation to the Lynn Valley Care Home outbreak – bringing the fatality total to 10.

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As part of new prevention measures, Dr. Henry also ordered today that all personal service establishments must close until further notice. This includes salons, spas, massage facilities, tattoo shops, and other services where human contact is necessary.

At this point in the pandemic, Dr. Henry made note of what all this data means for flattening the curve, and the progress the provincial government has made in altering the course of the virus.

The incubation period of the virus is up to 14 days, and Dr. Henry says when someone is identified as a presumptive, or confirmed case of COVID-19, they track everywhere that person had been in the 14 days to find if there are other people who were exposed who need to be in isolation. She says it takes time to gather the testing information, given the timelines associated with the novel coronavirus.

“So when somebody gets sick, there will be some time before they recognize it, and that’s one of the challenges that we’ve had with this disease,” she explains, “That people may go to work and interact with others before they realize they’re sick. At some point they realize they’re sick, see a health care provider or they may go to one of our assessment centres now, and they get a test, and it takes sometimes several days for those tests to come back.”

Dr. Henry says it’s not necessarily the number of tests per day that is the most important aspect to pay attention to.

“It’s the number of people getting infected and making sure that we can look back at those days ahead and isolate people before they can transmit it to others.”

She highlights the importance of social distancing, and how staying away from one another can be an important defense against the spread of the virus. The provincial government will be posting data in the coming days to show people how the virus spread is developing, and whether the curve is flattening out.

“This is our chance to alter the course of this epidemic. We can do that. We have seen that it is effective in other countries if we all do our part. It’s in our hands right now,” she stresses, “So this is our chance to stay apart. To connect socially, to connect virtually, to support each other, and to physically distance. And I’m calling on all of you to do that right now.”

In the coming days, Minister Dix says testing updates are expected to increase in frequency through the BC Centre for Disease Control website. This week, Dix notes that the inquiry services for COVID-19 assessments have seen high usage rates.

“We added seven nurses as of yesterday, and 30 patient navigators to the 8-1-1 services. We also had a record day with the patient self-assessment tool yesterday, with well over 530,000 calls,” he says, “And approximately 800 people contacted the COVID-19 line.”

In regards to the measures recently taken, Dix reminds residents that these are not suggestions at this point, they are orders.

“I want to say again, that it’s everyone’s obligation to comply,” he states, “And the most important thing, the thing we’ve been saying here at every briefing since January if you’re sick – stay home.”

Please note that all information has been provided by health authorities, the BC Centre for Disease Control, and the BC Government.

Resources:

• Checking symptoms online: https://covid19.thrive.health/
• (If you or a family member have symptoms or need medical advice, call 811)
• BC Centre for Disease Control – www.bccdc.ca
• Latest travel restrictions and provincial and federal programs
• Latest COVID-19 updates and statements: https://news.gov.bc.ca/Search?q=COVID-19