B.C.’s COVID-19 coronavirus cases total 1,410 as of April 10, with 40 new cases in the previous 24 hours and five more deaths.
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced the Good Friday totals along with a further urging for people not to travel unnecessarily on the long weekend.
“To date, 879 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered and no longer require isolation,” Dix and Henry said in a statement. “Of the total COVID-19 cases, 128 individuals are hospitalized and 65 of those are in intensive care. The remaining people with COVID-19 are recovering at home in self-isolation.”
Outbreak protocols, including no care aides working at multiple sites, continue to be in place in 20 affected long-term care and assisted living facilities in the Fraser and Vancouver Coastal health regions. They have a combined 242 cases among staff and residents, and the majority of B.C.’s 55 deaths have been residents of these facilities. One facility has been declared COVID-19 free.
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Hospital cases have declined slightly in recent days, with more than 4,000 acute and intensive care beds cleared by postponing scheduled surgeries and transferring non-acute patients to other facilities. And there are further preparations for a potential surge of COVID-19 cases.
“The 271-bed Vancouver Convention Health Centre and 80 new beds at Royal Columbian Hospital are set up as alternate care sites and ready to be operationalized as needed,” Dix and Henry said. “This is a critical step to ensure that B.C. is prepared for the worst as we work for the best outcome.”
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