Daily update for Monday, April 13 on the COVID-19 pandemic in Surrey, White Rock and beyond:
• Between April 11 and 12, the provincial government reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 and in the past 24 hours, there have been 20 new cases. B.C. now has 1,419 people who have tested positive for COVID-19.
• No new long-term care facility outbreaks.
• 137 people are hospitalized and of those, 58 are in critical care.
• In the last two days there have been 11 new deaths, bringing the total to 69. The majority of those are in long-term care.
• 905 people have recovered fully from the disease in B.C.
In the past 48 hours in #BC: 45 new cases
1,490 total
159 residents in longterm care positive
650 VCH
591 FH
87 VI
136 IH
26 NH@BlackPressMedia #COVID19— Kat Slepian (@katslepian) April 13, 2020
Other news:
• Monday morning, Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam reported that Canada now has 24,804 cases of COVID-19, has 734 reported deaths and has tested 428,000 people. Of the people tested, approximately 5.7 per cent have tested positive for the disease.
• The federal government announced it’s giving $50 million to help food producers with the mandatory 14-day quarantine imposed on temporary foreign workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Health Canada has approved the use of a portable, rapid-testing device for COVID-19. The Spartan Cube from Ottawa’s Spartan Bioscience is expected to help provide rapid tests for health services in rural and remote areas such as Indigenous communities.
• The Semiahmoo Shopping Centre donated 150 Easter treat bags to frontline workers at Peace Arch Hospital.
• A petition asking that access to Vancouver Island is limited to essential services, supplies and residents only during the COVID-19 pandemic has garnered thousands of signatures.
• Learning from home may present challenges to young students amid COVID-19. UBC faculty of education associate professor Marina Milner-Bolotin said that while secondary students have grown accustomed to online learning, middle school and primary students have not.
• The South Surrey & White Rock Chamber of Commerce announced this week that they will be hosting another COVID-19 virtual town hall session on April 17 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to address the concerns of businesses and residents of the area. This follows two other sessions held April 3, in which 120 people participated. Confirmed panel members include South Surrey-White Rock MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay, Surrey-White Rock MLA Tracy Redies, Surrey South MLA Stephanie Cadieux, White Rock Mayor Darryl Walker, Surrey Couns. Linda Annis and Allison Patton, and Peace Arch Hospital and Delta Hospital executive director Teresa O’Callaghan.
