There are 25 new cases of COVID-19 and 4 new deaths from the virus in BC today, bringing the total number of cases in the province to 1,291. Of those cases, 603 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority region.
There are currently 138 people with the virus who are hospitalized and 66 of those people are in critical care.
With many major religious holidays like Ramadan and Easter approaching in the coming days and weeks, both Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix appealed to people of faith throughout the province to find new ways to observe these important occasions.
“I encourage people to continue to look for those connections online,” said Henry.
The Vancouver Parks Board also announced today that it will be closing Stanley Park to vehicle traffic beginning Wednesday. Public parking lots in the park have been closed since March 22, but park employees have still observed people driving into the park and parking illegally on the road.
The causeway across the Lions Gate bridge will remain open and cyclists will still be able to access the park.
Also today, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the federal government is partnering with several Canadian companies to produce 30,000 new ventilators, although there is not yet a timeline for their completion.
3M announced late yesterday that it reached a deal with the US government that will allow it to continue supplying N95 masks to Canada and Latin America, contrary to an earlier order from the Trump administration.
Acknowledging the return of sunshine and warmer temperatures in recent days, both Henry and Dix also highly discouraged all non-essential travel over the holiday weekend, especially to smaller or more rural communities that might struggle more to handle a virus outbreak.
“Let’s bend the curve, not bend the rules this weekend,” said Dix. “Let’s continue to be 100 per cent all in.”
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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