The total number of deaths and confirmed cases of coronavirus continues to climb in British Columbia.
On Saturday, B.C.’s provincial health officer, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced that there are 29 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the province’s overall total to 1,203. She also said there were three additional deaths, which brings the province’s overall death toll to 38.
“We are in the thick of it,” Henry said. “We must hold our line.”
Of the 1,203 cases of COVID-19 in British Columbia, there are 76 confirmed cases in Island Health, which is an increase of two from yesterday. There are also 554 cases in Vancouver Coastal Health, 424 in Fraser Health, 128 in Interior Health and 21 in Northern Health.
A total of 23 care homes in British Columbia are now experiencing outbreaks of the coronavirus.
The number of people currently in hospital due to COVID-19 is 149, with 68 in intensive care. That’s up slightly from yesterday when the province reported 146 people in hospital and 64 in ICU.
On a positive note, 704 people in B.C. have recovered from the virus, according to Henry.
During Saturday’s announcement, Henry said the said outbreaks at care homes are an area of “particular” focus for the province. She said that in most cases the outbreaks have been managed because they have been detected early.
“For most of these outbreaks, catching it early has made a huge difference in protecting the people in that facility,” Henry said.
She also urged people to continue physical distancing measures, explaining that the risk remains “very high” for British Columbia.
“This is our time to be unwavering in our commitment to keep our firewall strong, to keep our distance between us, our physical distance, that safe distance between us that doesn’t allow this virus to spread,” Henry said, adding that she recognizes the efforts that many people have made to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
There are now more than one million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide according to the Johns Hopkins Resource Center.
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