Health
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 378 new cases, for a total of 143,264 cases in British Columbia.
“There are 3,543 active cases of COVID-19 in the province, and a further 137,929 people who tested positive have recovered.
“Of the active cases, 286 individuals are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, 88 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 98 new cases of COVID-19 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 189 new cases in the Fraser Health region, nine in the Island Health region, 68 in the Interior Health region, 14 in the Northern Health region and no new cases of people who reside outside of Canada.
“There have been seven new COVID-19 related deaths, for a total of 1,690 deaths in British Columbia. Our condolences are with the family, friends and caregivers of the people who have died as a result of COVID-19.
“3,032,811 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in B.C., 155,730 of which are second doses. This means 65.8% of all adults and 62% of those 12 and older have now received their first dose.
“As part of BC’s Restart plan, today an updated provincial health officer's order variance for religious services will be posted, allowing for up to 50 people at indoor religious services, with detailed COVID-19 safety plans in place.
“Currently, all of the approved vaccines in use in B.C. require a second booster dose to maximize protection for the maximum amount of time. Age continues to be the biggest risk factor and we will be continuing with our age-based approach.
“With the large number of Dose 1 immunizations in our province, we are advancing second-dose booster vaccines. We are moving up the booking of second doses for our age-based and clinically extremely vulnerable programs to eight weeks.
“If you are not yet registered, we strongly encourage you to do so today, in which case, you will be notified by email or text for your second dose as soon as your age group comes up.
“For those people with medical conditions that make you clinically extremely vulnerable, you will receive an invitation to book your Dose 2 appointment in the next few days.
“For the people who received an AstraZeneca vaccine, we are currently working through the operational and logistical details for second doses, and are waiting for the full results of the U.K. study. We will have more information to share on AstraZeneca second doses later next week, and assure you that there will be enough AstraZeneca vaccine for everyone who wants it.
“Since the surgical renewal commitment made last year, we have delivered surgeries to 97% of the 15,154 patients whose surgeries were postponed during the first wave of COVID-19 and still wanted to pursue a surgical treatment. Due to pressure on our hospitals and health-care teams earlier this year, nine Lower Mainland hospitals postponed all non-urgent scheduled surgeries on April 26, 2021. As of May 23, surgeries were postponed for 2,153 patients.
“Today, we presented the plan for resuming non-urgent scheduled surgeries in those nine hospitals. Burnaby Hospital was back to full operations on May 25. By Monday, June 7, all nine hospitals — Burnaby, Royal Columbian, Abbotsford Regional and Surrey Memorial in Fraser Health, and St. Paul’s, Lions Gate, Richmond, UBC and Vancouver General hospitals in Vancouver Coastal Health — will be fully online delivering the postponed surgeries.
“In April of this year, we made a commitment to patients whose surgeries were postponed that they were not forgotten. Today, we can say to these patients that we will soon be calling you again — this time to re-book your surgery.
“COVID-19 immunizations are the foundation of our restart plan. Vaccines provide protection to you and everyone around you. We have the momentum, so let’s keep going. Together, we will restart B.C. and put COVID-19 behind us.”
Learn More:
BC’s Restart plan – to see the May 25, 2021, presentation, visit: http://news.gov.bc.ca/files/BCRestartPlan.pdf
Surgical renewal:
For the PowerPoint for the Surgical Renewal update, visit: http://news.gov.bc.ca/files/Covid19_surgical_renewal_update_May_27.pdf
To view Progress Report 10, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/surgical-renewal-progress-report-Feb-March-2021.pdf
To view Progress Report 11, visit: https://news.gov.bc.ca/files/surgical-renewal-progress-report-March-2021.pdf
The latest vaccine information:
Register for your vaccine now: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/covid-19/vaccine/register or call 1-833-838-2323.
For vaccine information, visit the BCCDC dashboard: http://www.bccdc.ca/health-info/diseases-conditions/covid-19/data Or: www.bccdc.ca
Provincial health officer's orders and guidance:
To see the May 20, 2021, presentation, visit: http://news.gov.bc.ca/files/20210520_PHO-Presentation.pdf
Guidance on restrictions: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-preparedness-response-recovery/covid-19-provincial-support/restrictions
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.
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
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, visit:
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
Two backgrounders follow.
