VICTORIA -- B.C. health officials announced 29 new cases of COVID-19 and one additional death in the past 24-hours, in a written update Friday.
The update brings B.C.’s total number of coronavirus cases to 2,315 and total death toll to 127.
Meanwhile, 73 people are currently in hospital for treatment of COVID-19, 20 of whom require intensive care.
Health officials say there have been no new outbreaks at long-term care or assisted-living facilities since Thursday. Currently, 16 facilities and five acute-care units continue to manage outbreaks.
As of Friday, outbreaks at three chicken processing facilities in the Lower Mainland and at the Mission Institution prison continue.
However, no additional cases have been seen at the poultry facilities or prison in the past 24-hours, according to provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix.
Health officials are reminding British Columbians to continue following provincial health guidelines, like physical distancing, frequent hand washing and regular sanitizing of high-touch surfaces.
“Physical distancing is here to stay. We must continue to keep a safe physical distance from anyone outside of our household,” said Henry and Dix in a joint statement Friday.
Health officials also stress that it is important that no one leave the house if they are feeling unwell.
Meanwhile, as the weather improves, non-essential travel is still discouraged at this time.
“Travelling anywhere increases the likelihood of making us an unintentional carrier for COVID-19. While essential travel must continue, personal travel needs to be minimized, wherever possible,” said Henry and Dix.
As B.C. looks to ease restrictions next week, health officials are reminding everyone to continue following the pandemic “rules” that have been laid out so far.
Those guidelines, laid out by Dix and Henry Friday, include:
- Maintain physical distancing outside your household. For example, no handshaking or hugging, keeping your number of contacts low and keeping a safe distance.
- Practise good hygiene – hand hygiene, avoid touching your face and respiratory etiquette.
- Stay at home and away from others if you are feeling ill. That means staying home from school, work or socializing.
- Make necessary contact safer with appropriate controls, e.g., using plexiglass barriers or redesigning spaces.
- Increase cleaning of frequently touched surfaces at home and work.
- Consider using non-medical masks in situations where physical distancing cannot be maintained, such as on transit or while shopping.
- Continue to minimize non-essential personal travel.
- Stay informed, be prepared and follow public health advice.
The majority of B.C.’s current COVID-19 cases are found in the Lower Mainland. There are 1,089 cases in the Fraser Health region and 866 in the Vancouver Coastal Health region.
Elsewhere in the province, the Island Health region reported 125 cases, the Interior Health region saw 180 and the Northern Health region recorded 55.
Health officials say that as of Friday, 1,579 people in B.C. have recovered from the novel coronavirus.
“This weekend is Mother’s Day and a time to celebrate and honour someone important to us,” said Henry and Dix.
“For now, avoid any close physical contact, unless your mother is in your immediate household. And if your mother is older, awaiting surgery or has an underlying illness, celebrate at a safe distance,” said the pair.
“Give your mother the gift of staying safe and healthy.”
Health officials are reminding British Columbians that the province is still in Phase 1 of its restart plan, with Phase 2 officially starting after the May long weekend.
Phase 2 of the restart plan, which was announced on Wednesday, includes the reopening of many economic industries, the continuation of surgeries and the expansion of social bubbles to roughly double the current level.
