Flattening the curve: B.C. appears to be succeeding with COVID-19

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WatchWhy is B.C. "flattening the curve" while cases are surging in central Canada? Luck and timing are part of the equation, but decisions made by B.C.'s provincial health officer play a leading role. Mary Griffin reports. 

On Tuesday, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Ta announced the latest new coronavirus cases. 

“There are now 17,063 cases including 345 deaths,” Tam said.

Since late January, the number of COVID-19 cases started climbing in the country.

ut here in B.C., the numbers are telling a slightly different story compared to Ontario and Quebec, where the number of confirmed coronavirus cases here appears to have hit a possible turning point.

Dr. Tam acknowledged that B.C.’s numbers appear to be trending in the right direction.

“In good news, British Columbia recorded the lower number of cases this week compared to last. While it is too early to tell, this continues to encourage us,” Dr. Tam said.

On April 6, B.C. reported just new 63 cases over the space of 48 hours for a total of 1,266 cases.  Ontario reported 309 new cases for a total of 4,347 cases.  While in Quebec, there are 636 new cases for a total of more than 8,000.

On April 7, B.C. recorded 25 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the provincial total to 1,291.

B.C.’s Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry acknowledged Monday that cases are slowing.

“Our percentage of new cases, as you can see, has been slowing. It has been bending. And that is really important. And it is testament to the effort that everybody here in BC has been making over these past few weeks,” Henry said.

The number of people admitted to the hospital is dropping. There were 146 people in hospital with COVID-19 in B.C. on April 3 compared to 138 on Tuesday.

Henry attributes the slowing of cases to widespread testing, and the restrictive measures prior to the March spring break.

“My colleagues in Quebec were reporting to us that their March break was two weeks earlier than ours and people were coming back, as we know, they had very strong connections with countries like France, and people were coming home from March break and getting sick,” Henry said.

Henry says it is not the time to rest as the coming days are critical in the fight against COVID-19.

Mary GriffinMary Griffin

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