Chief Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry (Image Credit: BC Government)

By Dylana Kneeshaw

COVID-19 UPDATE

BC health officials outline COVID-19 research progress, as provincial total climbs to 1,203 cases

Apr 4, 2020 | 12:53 PM

VICTORIA — According to provincial health officials, there are now 1,203 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia.

In an update today (Apr. 4) Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry stated 29 new cases have been identified since Friday.

Dr. Henry notes there are now 128 cases within the Interior Health region, with two more added since yesterday. 554 positive cases have been identified in the Vancouver Coastal area, 424 identified within Fraser Health, 76 on the Island, and 21 in the Northern Health region.

Another outbreak of the virus has been confirmed at a long term care facility in the Fraser Health region.

“For most of these outbreaks, catching it early has made a huge difference in protecting the people in that facility,” says Dr. Henry.

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Three more deaths have also been reported, and today health officials offered their condolences to the loved ones of those individuals. So far, Dr. Henry says 149 people have been hospitalized as a result of the virus, with 68 of those cases being treated in intensive, or critical care units.

On the recovery side, she reported that 704 people have fully recovered from COVID-19 in the province.

In the update, Dr. Henry also made note of the various research initiatives underway within B.C, led by the COVID-19 Strategic Research Advisory committee. There are a number of research projects being worked on, including the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. Since January, the initiatives have been led by the BC Centre for Disease Control’s Dr. David Patrick.

“He’s got a group of scientists and researchers, and medical professionals from around the province who are working on this, and I am very grateful for all the work that they put into this,” she says, “On our research advisory committee as well, there are a number of public health experts, including my predecessor Dr. Perry Kendall – who we’ve brought back in to provide advice at this critical time.”

The committee has been contributing to ongoing research in British Columbia, and the information that officials get on a daily basis. Dr. Henry notes there has been at least $2 million in funding allocated to the Michael Smith Foundation for research.

Of the health research being conducted, the foundation has been working on tracking transmission of the virus in BC.

“We have a research project underway to understand the baseline susceptibility of people in British Columbia to COVID-19,” Dr. Henry explains, “And that will allow us, as I’ve talked about before, when we have a serologic test that helps us understand who has been infected and who is immune to this disease.”

Some of the research being conducted is also focused on understanding how the ‘infodemic’, or mass distribution of information on social media and online is impacting people’s behaviour.

Throughout the pandemic, Dr. Henry says they are constantly evaluating how well the situation is developing with the prevention measures put in place.

“I think this is going to be an important part of helping us get through this, and know what to do for the future.”

Despite fewer new cases identified today compared to previous updates, Dr. Henry stresses that the COVID-19 situation is still very serious within British Columbia, and preventative measures need to be upheld to curb the spread of the virus.

For the latest information from the BC Centre for Disease Control, click here.