B.C. now has a recorded total of 1,618 COVID-19 cases.
B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry and Minister of Health Adrian Dix announced in a joint statement this afternoon (April 17) there are 43 new test positive cases recorded.
Northern Health has had one more case recorded for a total now of 33.
.@Northern_Health has one new test positive recorded case for a new total of 33. #COVIDー19 #COVID19BC #drbonniehenry #BC #virus #update #coronavirus #outbreak #WHO
— jess fedigan (@jj_fedigan) April 17, 2020
There are 680 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region, 661 in the Fraser Health region, 94 are in the Island Health region and 150 are in the Interior Health region.
Henry and Dix say 119 patients are hospitalized while 52 of those are currently in ICU.
“There have been no new outbreaks in the last day. In total, 20 long-term care and assisted-living facilities, and one acute-care unit have active outbreaks," the statement reads.
"Outbreaks have been declared over at five facilities, and in review, one facility had been included in error. We have confirmed that the outbreak at Broadway Pentecostal Lodge was an influenza outbreak and not COVID-19. The lodge has been removed from the list."
A total of 63 inmates at the Mission Institution Correction Centre are now recorded and six are currently hospitalized.
Some good news, there have been no new deaths provincially, which keeps the total at 78.
Clear message from @adriandix and Dr. Henry it the update today: "We are in the eye of the storm in a Category 5 hurricane. The risk is still very high and there are many unknowns, but we are hopeful that with all of us standing strong, the storm will continue to lessen."
— jess fedigan (@jj_fedigan) April 17, 2020
"What happens next is directly tied to your continued efforts," the joint statement reads after new modelling was released earlier today. "We still have new cases, new outbreaks and tragically, new deaths. We cannot afford a resurgence that will undo all of the effort and sacrifices we have made so far."
“We all want opportunities for more social connection, but we’re not there yet. To safely ease restrictions, we must be thoughtful and careful in our approach. As we look ahead, we need to find the right balance. That is even more challenging because of the nature of the COVID-19 virus.
While the modelling from today showed positive signs in terms of B.C. cases and critical cases, Dix and Henry are stressing the province is not out of the woods when it comes to COVID-19.
“We are in the eye of the storm in a Category 5 hurricane. The risk is still very high and there are many unknowns, but we are hopeful that with all of us standing strong, the storm will continue to lessen."
