What you need to know about COVID-19 in B.C. on April 26, 2020
Provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 95 new cases on Saturday
THE LATEST:
- British Columbia's seniors advocate announced an additional $500,000 to help seniors and the caregivers who support them.
- On Saturday afternoon, the province confirmed a spike of 95 new cases of COVID-19.
- There have been two new deaths for a total of 100 provincewide.
- Forty of the new cases are linked to the federally-run Mission Institution — 106 inmates and 12 staff members have COVID-19.
- There are 16 new cases at Superior Poultry, a processing plant in Coquitlam and 11 new cases linked to an outbreak at a work site in Kearl Lake, Alta.
- The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital did not change Saturday. There are 96.
- The province will break up tent city encampments in Vancouver and Victoria to move people into hotel rooms.
A federal prison and two chicken processing plants are at the centre of a spike in new COVID-19 cases in B.C., despite a relatively stable number of new cases in the past two weeks.
On Saturday, Dr. Bonnie Henry announced 95 new cases, with 40 of them linked to the Mission Institution — where 106 inmates and 12 staff are sick — and 16 new cases at a Superior Poultry chicken processing plant in Coquitlam.
There were also 11 new cases linked to an outbreak at the Kearl Lake oilsands project in northern Alberta, for a total of 21 cases there.
The number of patients in hospital remained steady at 96, with 41 people in critical care. The province has confirmed 1,948 cases, of which 1,137 have fully recovered.
Henry announced two new deaths on Saturday, one of which is the first recorded fatality linked to a First Nations community in the province. Henry described the death of a First Nations elder as a tragedy.
To date, 100 people have died of COVID-19 in B.C.
There are active outbreaks at 20 long-term care homes. Dr. Henry said on Saturday that an outbreak had ended at one facility.
Also on Saturday, the province announced plans to place people living in encampments in Vancouver's Oppenheimer Park, along with Victoria's Topaz Park and Pandora corridor, in hotels. The province said they will be provided services to keep them safer during the pandemic.
On Sunday, seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie said $500,000 in funding will go to the Family Caregivers of British Columbia, a non-profit that supports seniors and caregivers. The funding will expand the help line and expand the organization's virtual tool kit.
Mackenzie says there are hundreds of thousands of people in the province who provide support for seniors so they can remain at home, including at least 30,000 people who provide more intense care like bathing and feeding.
Many of the measures put in place to combat COVID-19 have inadvertently impeded many improvements made for seniors in the province, she said.
- Your guide to financial help available for people in B.C. affected by the crisis
- How to apply for EI and COVID-19 emergency benefits
- Get the latest advisories, updates and cancellations for B.C.
Top COVID-19 stories today
- B.C's tourism industry is preparing for a bleak summer.
- Hundreds of people have called to complain about people not physically distancing. We explore the pleasure and peril of snitching on your neighbours during a pandemic.
- Softball and baseball leaders have been brainstorming ways to keep kids playing.
- Metro Vancouver has reported a big drop in garbage during the pandemic.
- Opinion columnists Uytae Lee and Petros Kusmu argue that TransLink doesn't need a bailout, it needs life support.
- The Canadian Coast Guard is asking B.C. mariners to stay home to prevent spread of COVID-19.
- B.C. is looking to Singapore for insights on contact tracing apps in the fight against COVID-19
Important reminders:
Health officials widely agree the most important thing you can do to prevent coronavirus and other illnesses is to wash your hands regularly and avoid touching your face.
The World Health Organization said more than 80 per cent of COVID-19 infections are estimated to be mild.
What's happening elsewhere in Canada
As of Sunday, Canada had 46,648 confirmed COVID-19 cases. A CBC News tally of coronavirus-related deaths, which is based on provincial data, local public health information and CBC reporting, put the death toll at 2,673 in Canada, plus two deaths abroad.
The numbers are not a complete picture, as they don't account for people who haven't been tested, those being investigated as a potential case and people still waiting for test results.
For a look at what's happening across the country and the world, check the CBC interactive case tracker.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19?
Common symptoms include:
- Fever.
- Cough.
- Tiredness.
But more serious symptoms can develop, including difficulty breathing and pneumonia.
What should I do if I feel sick?
Stay home. Isolate yourself and call your local public health authority or 811. Do not visit an emergency room or urgent care centre to get tested.
Find information about COVID-19 from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.
Non-medical information about COVID-19 is available in B.C. from 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m. PT, seven days a week at 1-888-COVID19 (1-888-268-4319).
What can I do to protect myself?
- Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly. Keep them clean.
- Keep at least two metres away from people who are sick.
- When outside the home, keep two metres away from other people.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Masks won't fully protect you from infection, but can help prevent you from infecting others.
More detailed information on the outbreak is available on the federal government's website.
If you have a COVID-19-related story we should pursue that affects British Columbians, please email us at impact@cbc.ca
With files from the Canadian Press