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No new cases of COVID-19 reported in north today

No news cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Northern Health region on Tuesday, while the number of cases across the province rose by 25.
Coronavirus

No news cases of COVID-19 were reported in the Northern Health region on Tuesday, while the number of cases across the province rose by 25.

In the north, the total number of cases detected remained at 23 and four people were currently hospitalized with the disease, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix said during a daily update on the pandemic.

The number of recoveries stood at nine, an increase of two from the day before, reducing the number of active cases to 14, with two of them in critical care, unchanged from Tuesday, according to an update from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

Despite the decline in new cases and hospitalizations, there is still a long way to go before this is over, Henry said.

"We're in the thick of it right now," she said. "We're in for a bit of ride with this."

There were four more deaths in B.C. from COVID-19 since Monday's update, she said. Three of the deaths were in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and one in the Fraser Health region. To date, 43 British Columbians have died from the disease, none of whom lived in the north.

A total of 1,291 people have tested positive for the disease in B.C. since the outbreak began and 805 have fully recovered, Henry said. Throughout the province, 138 COVID-19 patients were in hospital, including 66 in intensive care, she added.

Outbreaks have been reported in 21 long-term care facilities in the Lower Mainland, and a total of 213 long-term care residents have tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

The province is continuing to prepare for the worst, Dix said, and B.C.'s healthcare professional have continued to step up their efforts to respond to the crisis.

"We continue to have people rejoin the (medical) profession," he said.

Across the province, 56 doctors, 880 nurses of various levels and specializations, and 33 workings allied health professions have come out of retirement to fight the pandemic, he said.

The province received two major shipments of personal protective equipment for medical staff, Dix added, one on Sunday and one on Tuesday, and those products are being tested and move to hospitals were they are needed. 

B.C. will likely receive some of the 30,000 ventilators the federal government is working to source from Canadian companies and has refurbished some, giving the province between 1,400 and 1,500 ventilators available, Dix said.

"We've been able to deal with some gaps in some regions," he said. "Right now our goal is, by being 100 per cent committed (to prevention), that our current stock should be sufficient."

With the Easter weekend approaching, Henry urged residents to find ways to celebrate that don't involve getting together in person or unnecessary travel

"We need to avoid all non-essential travel. (But) stay connected with your family, stay connected virtually," she said. "Coming together, even in small groups, is problematic right now."

Dix said Premier John Horgan spoke with over 100 faith leaders from across B.C. on Tuesday morning, and they were in agreement on the need to find alternative ways for people to engage in their faith remotely.

Gatherings of more than 50 people are currently banned, Henry added, but COVID-19 transmits easiest indoors between people in close contact. That means even small family gatherings are a potential spreading ground for the disease.

"We can still celebrate and care for those around us," Henry said. "Now is our time when we need to pay special attention to our elders and seniors. We protect them by connecting safely at a distance."

The province is looking at what conditions would allow the province to start lifting restrictions on public gathering and other social distancing measures, she said.

"Those plans and conditions are being worked out," she said. "There are things we're looking at, including the modelling. What we're very closely closely watching is what is happening around the world."

B.C. is looking at countries like China, South Korea and Singapore where social distancing restrictions are being relaxed and, in some cases, new cases of COVID-19 have begun to increase again.

"This is the 12th week Dr. Henry and I have been doing COVID-19 briefings," Dix said. "There is some evidence we're flattening the curve, (but) we need to double down now. Let's bend the curve, not bend the rules, this weekend."