There are 55 new cases of COVID-19 and 6 new deaths from the virus in BC today, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 1,121. Of those cases, 525 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority region.
Today, there are 149 people with the virus who are hospitalized and 68 of those people are in critical care.
The province also announced a $3.5-million fund to help students who are struggling financially because of COVID-19.
In today’s briefing, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix discussed a new community outbreak in the interior and the importance of self-isolation for returning travellers.
Henry announced that the new community outbreak — the province’s second outside of a long-term care centre — was related to an inmate at the Okanagan Correctional Centre.
She maintained that despite the difficulty of practicing physical distancing in environments like correctional centres, proper precautions are being taken. These include the isolation of the test-positive inmate and the continued monitoring of inmates who were in his pod.
Dix again emphasized today that especially as Canadians who have been stranded abroad begin returning home, it is critically important that all travellers returning from abroad self-isolate for 14 days even if they have no symptoms. He added that not only was this the law under the Quarantine Act, but is also the obligation of all travellers to protect their community.
Henry added that people should also refrain from all non-essential travel within the province, especially to small or rural communities that are more vulnerable to the virus.
On the continuing issue of adequate supplies of personal protective equipment, Dix expressed hope that a large shipment of equipment the federal government recently took delivery of will aid health care workers in BC and elsewhere.
Henry again stressed today that there is reason to be optimistic about the virus’s trajectory in BC, but that people could not let up on their precautions.
“We are getting through this,” she said. “We need to continue to follow these orders and precautions that we have in place. We must do all we can to protect our families and our communities across British Columbia.”
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/
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