There are 27 new cases of COVID-19 and 3 new deaths from the virus in BC today, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 1,517. Of those cases, 658 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority region.
There are currently 134 people with the virus in the province who are hospitalized and, of those, 58 are in critical care.
In today’s briefing, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry provided an update on the three ongoing community outbreaks in BC and discussed some of the measures the province is taking to support people who use drugs (PWUD) and people experiencing homelessness.
As of today there are three new positive cases related to the outbreak at a West Kelowna nursery and no new cases at the Okanagan Correctional Centre.
There has been an increase in positive cases at the federal correctional facility in Mission, however, as there are now 41 people connected to the facility who have tested positive for COVID-19. Seven of those people are hospitalized.
In response to the steady uptick in cases at that facility, Henry said that Abbotsford Regional Hospital has set aside a dedicated space to safely and securely treat patients related to the Mission outbreak. In addition the province is re-deploying its mobile medical unit from the Vancouver Convention Centre to the Abbotsford area to provide additional resources.
There is also one new long-term care outbreak at a facility in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority.
Henry noted that today marks four years since the province declared a public health emergency in response to the opioid crisis and reiterated that it is important to recognize that the crisis has not abated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
To that end, she highlighted several measures the province has taken to help protect vulnerable individuals during the pandemic, including support for safe supply initiatives for PWUD and housing support for people experiencing homelessness.
“We’re not letting this crisis overtake the importance of our response to our overdose crisis here,” she said.
Stay up to date on UBC information related to COVID-19 by visiting ubyssey.ca/covid-19, the websites of the BCCDC, the Public Health Agency of Canada or the World Health Organization. The province has set up a dedicated COVID-19 phone line at 1-888-COVID19 or text at 1-888-268-4319. For updates on UBC’s response to COVID-19, visit ubc.ca/campus-notifications/
Share this article
First online
