One new case of COVID-19 has been detected in the Northern Health region, and one more person in northern B.C. is in hospital with the disease.
The total number of cases detected in the Northern Health region increased to 24, and there were five people hospitalized with the disease in the region as of Thursday afternoon, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry Health Minister Adrian Dix said.
There were 34 new cases reported across the province, Henry said, bringing the total number of cases detected in the province since the beginning of the outbreak to 1,370.
"We seem to be bending our curve, and that is because British Columbians are doing what they're supposed to do," Henry said.
Two more people died from COVID-19 since Henry's report on Wednesday, one in Vancouver Coastal Health and one in Fraser Health. The death toll from the pandemic reached a total of 50 in the province, she said.
There still has been no deaths linked to COVID-19 in northern B.C.
Throughout the province 132 people were hospitalized with COVID-19, including 68 in critical care.
The total number of British Columbians who had fully-recovered from COVID-19 increased by 30, up to 858.
Henry said she and her colleagues are looking at the possibility of changing or lifting some of the social distancing measures on a region-by-region basis, in areas where the number of new cases are low.
"(But) right now we have community transmission in most parts of the province," she added.
Both Henry and Dix again emphasized the need for people to continue following social distancing measures, to not travel unnecessarily and to celebrate religious holidays at home.
However, she said, B.C. is not considering setting up checkpoints to limit travel or increasing enforcement of social distancing measures at this time.
"I don't believe we need to ensure every car or every group of people walking together are part of the same household," Henry said. "People are mostly complying."
Those who are not complying are putting themselves, their friends and loved ones at risk, she added.
Henry and Dix were not expected to report to the public again until after the Easter long weekend.
