Premier John Horgan, alongside Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix, is expected to announce a plan Thursday morning to restart elective surgeries at BC hospitals.
At 10:30 am PT, the trio will be holding a press conference to unveil details of the restart, with a live stream of the announcement available on the BC Government’s Facebook page. The information following the briefing will be available on CHEK’s website and social media channels.
The elective surgeries plan comes one day after Premier Horgan and BC’s health officials revealed the province’s plans for reopening the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plan emphasizes that both personal and medical services will start to become available by the middle of May, however, most services will follow new screening protocols.
The services outlined by Premier Horgan that will start to reopen in the coming weeks include chiropractors, physiotherapy, dentistry, massage, barbershops and salons, restaurants, and counselling.
As far as Thursday’s announcement on elective surgeries, Health Minister Dix has said an estimated 30,000 procedures will have been cancelled from mid-March to mid-May.
Some urgent surgeries and cancer operations have continued in the province, but dealing with the overall backlog could take years.
Although dental, physio and massage therapy services are resuming in mid-May, provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry says some operating restrictions will remain in place in order to ensure proper physical distancing measures are being taken for both workers and the public.
This story will be updated following the announcement at 10:30 am.
Graham Cox
