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 44 new cases for a total of 1,561 cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia.

“Every health region in British Columbia has patients with COVID-19: 670 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 623 are in the Fraser Health region, 92 are in the Island Health region, 146 are in the Interior Health region and 30 are in the Northern Health region.

“We are saddened to report three new COVID-19 related deaths, one in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, one in the Fraser Health region and one in the Interior Health region for a total of 75 deaths in British Columbia. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones.

“There have been no new long-term care outbreaks in the last day. The 21 affected long-term care and assisted-living facilities have a total of 265 cases of COVID-19.

“Fraser Health and the BC Centre for Disease Control continue to provide ongoing support for the outbreak at the medium security Mission Institution (MI) federal correctional centre. There are now 48 cases of COVID-19 associated with MI, including seven people from that facility who are receiving care in hospital.

“To date, 955 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered and no longer require isolation.

“Of the total COVID-19 cases, 131 individuals are currently hospitalized, 59 of those are in intensive care, and the remaining people are recovering at home in self-isolation.

“We have taken a co-ordinated, provincewide approach to our COVID-19 response to ensure the needs that exist within every community are addressed.

“One thing that we all have in common is the understanding that Elders and seniors hold and preserve our history and culture. We also know that they are most vulnerable to COVID-19 and we must do all we can to protect them.

“We also recognize that every community in B.C. is unique – with different health-care services and required support. Smaller communities have limited health services, which makes managing and responding to COVID-19 all the more challenging.

“This is especially the case for many Indigenous communities and why we have been working to increase options for patient care and clinical support.

“While self-isolation at home is preferred by many, it is not always possible. As a result, resources have been created to support Indigenous individuals with alternatives – in urban centres and in local communities.

“Localized testing capabilities have been established in the Interior and North to shorten testing turnaround times and reduce the potential for community transmission.”

“From the outset of this pandemic, we have adapted our response and added new tools to support British Columbians, and we will continue to do so moving forward. What we do today and every day matters.

“Let’s continue to work together, to stay strong and flatten the curve.”

Learn More:

For information on how returning travellers can submit self-isolation plans, visit: gov.bc.ca/returningtravellers  

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

For the latest medical updates, including case counts and information on how to protect yourself and your community, visit:  http://www.bccdc.ca/
Or follow @CDCofBC on Twitter.

For the provincial health officer’s 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. (Pacific time), seven days a week.

To use the online COVID-19 self-assessment tool or to download the app, visit: https://bc.thrive.health/

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

For a Chinese translation, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/2020.04.15_New_ExistingCasesCOVID-19_CN.pdf

A backgrounder follows.