Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, and Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the COVID-19 response in British Columbia:
“Today, we are reporting 1,262 new cases, for a total of 109,540 cases in British Columbia.
“There are 9,574 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, with 15,673 people under public health monitoring as a result of identified exposure to known cases. A further 98,336 people who tested positive have recovered.
“Of the active cases, 332 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 102 of whom are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.
“Since we last reported, we have had 358 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 638 new cases in the Fraser Health region, 54 in the Island Health region, 132 in the Interior Health region, 79 in the Northern Health region and one new case of a person who resides outside of Canada.
“There have been two new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,495 deaths in British Columbia.
“Over one million doses (1,025,019) of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca-SII COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 87,606 of which are second doses.
“This is a significant milestone for all of us, and we will continue to work to get vaccines into arms as soon as we can. Today, people 65 and older, Indigenous peoples 18 and over, and individuals who have received their ‘clinically extremely vulnerable’ letter may register for their vaccine.
“The outbreak at Eagle Ridge Hospital is now over.
“There are currently 4,111 cases of COVID-19 that are confirmed variants of concern in our province. Of the total cases, 105 are active and the remaining people have recovered. This includes 3,082 cases of the B.1.1.7 (U.K.) variant, 55 cases of the B.1.351 (South Africa) variant and 974 cases of the P.1 (Brazil) variant.
“No matter what our age, or where we may be, our province is not yet protected from COVID-19. This is why we all need to follow all of the public health orders.
“Avoid indoor gatherings outside of your household and avoid travel. Get tested if you have even mild symptoms and use all of your layers of protection. This is how we will slow the spread and get ahead of the virus strains that are in our communities right now.
“Bending the rules only delays our ability to put the pandemic behind us, so let’s ensure we are not looking for exceptions to the orders we have in place, but rather looking to how we can help each other to stay small, stay local and stay strong in the face of COVID-19.”
Learn More:
For the April 8, 2021, PowerPoint presentation on variants, visit: http://news.gov.bc.ca/files/20210408-PHO-Presentation_FNL.pdf
For provincial health officer's orders and guidance, visit:
Guidance on restrictions: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions
Latest vaccine information:
For vaccine information, visit the BC Centre for Disease Control dashboard: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data
Or: www.bccdc.ca
The latest updates, guidance and information on COVID-19, and where to get tested:
The latest medical updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and to find a testing centre near you: http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.
For data regarding ongoing outbreaks in long-term care, assisted-living and independent-living facilities in B.C., visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data#outbreak
Mental health support:
Mental health and anxiety support: www.bouncebackbc.ca
Or: www.anxietycanada.com
Or: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/about-covid-19/mental-well-being-during-covid-19
Or: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/managing-your-health/mental-health-substance-use/virtual-supports-covid-19
To share your feedback in the Personal Impacts of COVID-19 Survey, visit: https://www.bcchr.ca/POP/our-research/pics
Non-health related information:
Financial, child care and education support, travel, transportation and essential service information: www.gov.bc.ca/covid19
Or call 1 888 COVID19 (1 888 268-4319) between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. (Pacific time), seven days a week.
COVID-19 exposure events, updates and information by health authority:
BCCDC (flights, work sites, etc): http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/public-exposures
Fraser Health: fraserhealth.ca/covid19exposure
Interior Health: https://news.interiorhealth.ca/news/public-exposures/
Island Health: https://www.islandhealth.ca/learn-about-health/covid-19/outbreaks-and-exposures
Northern Health: https://www.northernhealth.ca/health-topics/outbreaks-and-exposures
Vancouver Coastal Health: http://www.vch.ca/covid-19/public-exposures
For the latest videos and livestreaming of COVID-19 media availabilities, visit:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BCProvincialGovernment/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCGovNews
YouTube: www.youtube.com/ProvinceofBC
A backgrounder follows.