Adrian Dix, Minister of Health, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.'s provincial health officer, have issued the following joint statement regarding updates on the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) response in British Columbia:

“We are announcing 25 new cases, for a total of 1,291 cases in British Columbia.

“Every health region in British Columbia has patients with COVID-19: 603 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 458 are in the Fraser Health region, 79 are in the Island Health region, 128 are in the Interior Health region and 23 are in the Northern Health region.

“We are saddened to report a further four COVID-19 related deaths in the Vancouver Coastal and Fraser health regions for a total of 43 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones.

“There have been no new long-term care facility outbreaks in the last day. Vancouver Coastal and Fraser health teams continue to provide support to the affected long-term care and assisted-living facilities, which have a combined 213 cases of COVID-19.

“To date, 805 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered and no longer require isolation.

“Of the total COVID-19 cases, 138 individuals are hospitalized, and 66 of those are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

“Starting tomorrow and over the coming days, British Columbians of many faiths, along with millions around the world, will be celebrating major religious holidays in ways that many have never experienced before.

“B.C.’s faith leaders have taken the challenge of maintaining physical distance to heart and are using these holidays as an opportunity to reinforce our commitment to showing kindness and care for our communities.

“We call on faith leaders, followers and congregations to pay special attention to our Elders and seniors to ensure we protect them by connecting safely from a distance.

“We know many people must manage chronic diseases and other health issues. We encourage people to continue to connect with their primary care provider or family physician for ongoing care. Phone and virtual resources are available for everyone.

“This long weekend, we need to stay home, to stay in our communities and to stay at a safe physical distance from others when outside. Avoiding unnecessary travel, particularly to smaller communities, where they may be unable to support you if you get sick and where they have fewer resources, is an important way we can protect ourselves and our loved ones.

“Let’s continue to stand united, to stay strong and do all we can to flatten the curve.”

Learn More:

For mental health and anxiety support, visit: www.bouncebackbc.ca
Or www.anxietycanada.com

For the latest medical updates, including case counts, prevention, risks and testing, visit: http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.

For provincial health officer orders, notices and guidance, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/phoguidance

For non-health related information, including financial, child care and education supports, travel, transportation and essential service information, visit: www.gov.bc.ca/covid19
Or call 1 888 COVID19 (1 888 268-4319) between 7:30 a.m. and 8 p.m., seven days a week.

For recommendations on protecting yourself and your community from COVID-19, and to use an online self-assessment tool, visit: www.bccdc.ca/

The COVID-19 self-assessment app can be downloaded here: https://bc.thrive.health/

For the latest videos and livestreaming of COVID-19 media availabilities, visit:
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/BCProvincialGovernment/ 
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/BCGovNews 
On YouTube: www.youtube.com/ProvinceofBC

For a Chinese translation: http://news.gov.bc.ca/files/2020.04.7_New_ExistingCasesCOVID-19_CN.pdf

A backgrounder follows.