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:

“Today, we are providing case updates for two 24-hour reporting periods: April 4 to 5, and April 5 through to midday today.

“In the first reporting period through April 5, we had 26 new cases, for a total of 1,229 cases in British Columbia.

“In the last 24 hours, we have had a further 37 new cases, for a total of 1,266 cases in British Columbia.

“This represents 63 new cases since we reported on Saturday.

“Every health region in British Columbia has patients with COVID-19: 586 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 450 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.

“There have been 39 COVID-19 related deaths in British Columbia. We are saddened to report that we have had a community death of a known COVID-19 case in the Vancouver Coastal health region. The BC Coroners Service is investigating, as is the process for any sudden unexpected death that takes place in community. We offer our condolences to everyone who has lost their loved ones.

“The Vancouver Coastal and Fraser health regions continue to respond to outbreaks and new cases in long-term care and assisted-living facilities, which have a combined 210 cases of COVID-19. Residents in these facilities are our most vulnerable citizens, and efforts to protect them continue to be a major focus of our health teams. Vancouver Coastal Health has one new long-term care facility outbreak, while three outbreaks at long-term care homes in that region have been declared over.

“A new community outbreak of COVID-19 has been detected at a federal correctional centre in Mission. Correctional Service Canada has implemented outbreak response protocols at the facility.

“To date, 783 people who had tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered and no longer require isolation.

“Of the total COVID-19 cases, 140 individuals are currently hospitalized, 72 of those are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.

“While it is encouraging to see the overall rate of new cases in British Columbia in the last few days levelling, we also continue to see new outbreaks in the community and with vulnerable individuals.

“These hot spots are very concerning, as they can quickly escalate and further challenge our health system – something we have seen in many other parts of the world.

“We must all work to ensure our firewall stays strong and remain united in our efforts to hold the line.

“British Columbians can help to flatten our curve and protect our communities by staying home as much as possible, continuing to follow physical distancing measures when out, and importantly, continuing to support loved ones and others in our communities.

“We recently made a call for British Columbians to donate blood. Volunteers in the Sikh community stepped up in response to our appeal. The Sikh Nation Blood Drive is the largest of its kind in Canada, and it is working with Canadian Blood Services to launch a new blood drive. We thank them, and the many British Columbians who have responded to that call, for their generosity.

“As travellers return, we welcome you home to join us and do your part by following provincial and federal orders to immediately self-isolate for 14 days.

“Let’s continue to make a 100% commitment to breaking the chain of transmission.”

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/2020.04.6_New_ExistingCasesCOVID-19_CN.pdf

A backgrounder follows.